# The Counterfeit Traitor > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Counterfeit_Traitor > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Counterfeit_Traitor.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Counterfeit_Traitor > Source revision: 1356534124 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1962 film by George Seaton The Counterfeit Traitor Theatrical release poster Directed by George Seaton Screenplay by George Seaton Based on The Counterfeit Traitor by Alexander Klein Produced by William Perlberg George Seaton Starring William Holden Lilli Palmer Hugh Griffith Cinematography Jean Bourgoin Edited by Alma Macrorie Music by Alfred Newman Production company Perlberg-Seaton Productions Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date April 17, 1962 (1962-04-17) Running time 140 minutes Country United States Language English Box office $2.7 million (US and Canada rentals)[1] ***The Counterfeit Traitor*** is a 1962 American [spy](/source/Spy_film) [thriller film](/source/Thriller_film) written and directed by [George Seaton](/source/George_Seaton) and starring [William Holden](/source/William_Holden), [Lilli Palmer](/source/Lilli_Palmer), and [Hugh Griffith](/source/Hugh_Griffith). Holden plays Swedish-American oil executive [Eric Erickson](/source/Eric_Erickson_(spy)), who is forced to spy on the [Nazis](/source/Nazi_Germany) in [World War II](/source/World_War_II). It was based on a nonfiction book of the same name by Alexander Klein.[2] ## Plot Eric Erickson is an American-born Swedish oil executive who is pressured by Allied intelligence agents, led by British agent Collins, to spy for the Allies. Erickson begins his job reluctantly, as it causes marital discord and forces him to pose as a Nazi. He agrees because otherwise his business would be destroyed by the Allies, but over time, realizes it is the right thing to do. Besides, Collins recorded the meeting. He is influenced in making this moral decision by one of his contacts in Germany, a religious German Christian woman named Marianne Mollendorf, who gives him guidance on the meaning of life and right and wrong. Erickson has a number of close calls, but eventually escapes to Sweden in a harrowing sea voyage. ## Cast - [William Holden](/source/William_Holden) as [Eric Erickson](/source/Eric_Erickson_(spy)) - [Lilli Palmer](/source/Lilli_Palmer) as Frau Marianne Möllendorf - [Hugh Griffith](/source/Hugh_Griffith) as Collins - [Carl Raddatz](/source/Carl_Raddatz) as Otto Holtz - [Ulf Palme](/source/Ulf_Palme) as [Max Gumpel](/source/Max_Gumpel) - [Ernst Schröder](/source/Ernst_Schr%C3%B6der_(actor)) as Baron Gerhard von Oldenburg - [Charles Régnier](/source/Charles_R%C3%A9gnier) as Wilhelm Kortner - [Ingrid van Bergen](/source/Ingrid_van_Bergen) as Hulda Windler - Helo Gutschwager as Hans Holtz - [Wolfgang Preiss](/source/Wolfgang_Preiss) as Colonel Nordoff - [Werner Peters](/source/Werner_Peters) as Bruno Ulrich - [Erica Beer](/source/Erica_Beer) as Klara Holtz - [Stefan Schnabel](/source/Stefan_Schnabel) as Gestapo agent at funeral - [Klaus Kinski](/source/Klaus_Kinski) as Kindler, Jewish refugee - Jochen Blume as Dr. Jacob Karp - [Erik Schumann](/source/Erik_Schumann) as Nazi gunboat officer - Dirk Hansen as Lieutenant Nagler - [Poul Reichhardt](/source/Poul_Reichhardt) as fishing boat Skipper - Ludwig Naybert as stationmaster - [Louis Miehe-Renard](/source/Louis_Miehe-Renard) as Poul - [Kai Holm](/source/Kai_Holm) as Gunnar - [Jens Østerholm](/source/Jens_%C3%98sterholm) as Lars - [Eva Dahlbeck](/source/Eva_Dahlbeck) as Ingrid Erickson ## See also - [List of American films of 1962](/source/List_of_American_films_of_1962) - [Eric Erickson](/source/Eric_Erickson_(spy)), the real-life spy on whom the book and film are based[2] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Big Rental Pictures of 1962"](https://archive.org/details/variety-1963-01/page/n69/mode/2up?q=1963). *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))*. January 9, 1963. p. 13. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Klein_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Klein_2-1) ["Alexander Klein, 83; Wrote Spy Thriller"](https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400EEDE123CF937A1575BC0A9649C8B63). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. August 24, 2002. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170506044555/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/24/arts/alexander-klein-83-wrote-spy-thriller.html) from the original on May 6, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2007. ## External links - [*The Counterfeit Traitor*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055871/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [*The Counterfeit Traitor*](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/23031) at the *[AFI Catalog of Feature Films](/source/AFI_Catalog_of_Feature_Films)* - [*The Counterfeit Traitor*](https://web.archive.org/web/1/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/71584/enwp) at the [TCM Movie Database](/source/Turner_Classic_Movies#TCMdb) (archived) v t e Films directed by George Seaton Diamond Horseshoe (1945) Junior Miss (1945) The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947) Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Apartment for Peggy (1948) Chicken Every Sunday (1949) The Big Lift (1950) For Heaven's Sake (1950) Anything Can Happen (1952) Little Boy Lost (1953) The Country Girl (1954) The Proud and Profane (1956) Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot (1957) Teacher's Pet (1958) The Pleasure of His Company (1961) The Counterfeit Traitor (1962) The Hook (1963) 36 Hours (1964) What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968) Airport (1970) Showdown (1973) This article about a film on World War II is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:WWII-film-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3AWWII-film-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:WWII-film-stub) This article about a 1960s thriller film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:1960s-thriller-film-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3A1960s-thriller-film-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:1960s-thriller-film-stub) This article related to an American film of the 1960s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:1960s-US-film-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3A1960s-US-film-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:1960s-US-film-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Counterfeit Traitor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Counterfeit_Traitor) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Counterfeit_Traitor?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.