Ironically, although the film was advertised as authentic and accurate, the film""s major black roles in the film -- including the Senator""s mulatto mistress, the mulatto politican brought to power in the South, and faithful freed slaves -- were stereotypically played and filled by white actors - in blackface.Better cut it out, Jack.Driscoll: Love affair! You think I""m gonna fall for any dame?Denham: I""ve never known it to fail: some big, hard-boiled egg gets a look at a pretty face and bang, he cracks up and goes sappy." Gruber told the two doomed men this time: "No code, no riddle, no fancy little countdown." But Mathias knew the truth about Gruber""s plan - that the containers were filled with scrap metal.He was murdered by Katya (Sam Phillips), Mathias"" former mistress now in league with Gruber.The terrorist""s scheme was only to make people believe that he was blowing up billions of dollars of gold."] It was directed by the legendary Howard Hawks, scripted by Nobel laureate William Faulkner (with additional assistance from Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman), and scored by composer Max Steiner.