An American woman named Mildred Gillars broadcasts Nazi propaganda during World War II. She is dubbed "Axis Sally" by the American G.I.s who simultaneously love and hate her. The story plunges the viewer into the dark underbelly of the Third Reich's propaganda machine, Sally's eventual capture, and her subsequent trial for treason in Washington D.C. after the war.
The court trial intends to prove that Axis Sally is a traitor to her country. Other Americans who have contributed to Nazi propaganda are called to testify during the trial. The defense is, if one had not done as instructed, the penalty would be deportation to a concentration camp. Her actions were allegedly therefore done under force. Under this logic, she escapes the death penalty. However, she is convicted of treason and sentenced to 30 years in prison, with a possibility of parole after 10.
Cast
Al Pacino as James Laughlin, an attorney who represents Gillars after she is put on trial for treason
In May 2017, it was announced that EFO Films acquired the screenplay Axis Sally by Vance Owen and Darryl Hicks, based on the book Axis Sally Confidential by Willem E. Owen.[1] In November 2018, Al Pacino, Meadow Williams and Swen Temmel joined the cast, with Michael Polish directing.[2][3] In February 2019, Thomas Kretschmann, Mitch Pileggi and Lala Kent joined the cast.[4] In April 2019, Carsten Norgaard joined.[5] It was also announced that Kubilay Uner would compose the film's score.[6]
In April 2021, Vertical Entertainment and Redbox Entertainment acquired the North American distribution rights to the film, which had been retitled American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally, and prepared for its release on May 28, 2021.[8]
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 21 critics and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed three as positive and 18 as negative for a 19% rating. Among the reviews, it determined an average rating of 3.7 out of 10.[9]
Hope Madden of UK Film Review said, "Aside from Pacino, the cast is uniformly awful."[10]
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