Les enfants d'Hitler

The very much critically acclaimed Hitler's Children is still quite a powerful film today. Potential lovers Tim Holt and Bonita Granville can never quite get together because of the Nazi ideology that Tim espouses.

The film has certain similarities to MGM's The Mortal Storm though without the A list cast of that one. The two go to different schools across the street from each other. Bonita is German born, but a naturalize American living with her grandparents while she attends the American school run by Kent Smith. Tim goes to the German all boys school for the new Hitler Youth and it was new when this film's action starts in 1933.

It's no accident that this was a boys school for the German youth. The Nazi ideology was firmly patriarchal and eloquently expressed the fact that women were child bearing vessels and nurturers of future Nazis and nothing more. No accident when you see Nazi rally newsreels for the young and old it's an all male cast. Hitler's Children explores that issue far more than most wartime films made by the Allies.

Kent Smith has the Nick Carroway narrative part in the story, we see it through his eyes up to the moment he departs for Paris and knowing full well the Nazis will be there shortly.

Holt and Granville are an attractive pair. Hitler's Children has aged far better than most American war films of the World War II era.

I can see how this film would have created a stir when it was released in 1942.World War II was being fought and the Germans dominated Europe. The film is the story of two star crossed lovers: an American girl with German blood and an unfortunate young man who rises from the Hitler Youth and becomes a colonel in the Gestapo. Kind of an unusual take on the boy meets girl story but a good film just the same. Recommended for history buffs and Tim Holt fans.

Gripping WW2 movie about a young Gestapo officer (Tim Holt) who must choose between his loyalty to Hitler and the American girl he loves (Bonita Granville). Well-photographed and directed, it's a powerful and fascinating movie that has a lot to chew on for history buffs but is also an entertaining dramatic picture. It was pretty shocking stuff at the time, which led to it being a big hit at the box office. Tim Holt is fantastic in this. Definitely in his top three roles. He was a good actor who's largely forgotten today except among classic film fans. Bonita Granville has one of her meatiest parts here. This is a far cry from Nancy Drew. Kent Smith has a nice role as a sympathetic teacher. He narrates the first part of the movie. Otto Kruger and Hans Conried are two of the Nazis. As with a lot of WW2 era films on IMDb, you'll notice the reviews here are full of the word 'propaganda.' Try to ignore that. The problem isn't with the word itself but some use it to cast aspersions or impugn the honesty of a film. People these days have so many axes to grind and so much anger towards the wrong things. It's unsettling to me but, frankly, I'd rather not unravel that thread.

War time propaganda films must be viewed in the context of the times in which they were made. It is sometimes difficult to appreciate a film because of the framework of propaganda. This film, made at the beginning of the war with Germany, attempts to depict what was happening in that country and the threat it posed to the world. It may be somewhat simplified but it gets the point across.

Bonita Granville, an appealing actress who began her career as a child star, does a fine job as the German/American young woman who is caught up in the maelstrom of Nazism. Tim Holt, as the German officer, seems miscast somehow.....I still see him searching for the Treasure of Sierra Madre with Humphrey Bogart but maybe that's just my problem. Kent Smith, a yeoman actor, whose face was everywhere during the 40's, is his usual bland self. The coup of casting is Otto Kruger as Tim Holt's mentor.....he was an underrated actor, who always gave good performances.....see him in "Murder My Sweet" as the sleazy Anthor to really appreciate his talents. Hans Conreid, usually thought of as a comic actor, plays against type here and it works well enough. Since hindsight is 20/20, we notice that some of the major atrocities of the Nazi regime, such as concentration camps (mentioned briefly) and the "Jewish question" are not addressed. View this film for what it is....propaganda....an attempt to show the audience that other world, where terrible things were happening and why America was fighting to preserve freedom. It's a piece of history that is worth watching.

I have always wanted to watch this movie if only for the title alone. Bonita Granville plays Anna, a young lass at the American school in Berlin. It is 1933, not a good year to be a German born Yank residing in the Deutschland (not a good year for anyone to be there). The film opens with our freedom loving friends fighting a bunch of Nazi Youth. During the fracas Tim Holt, a strapping example of Germany's future meets the spunky Bonita. He quickly succumbs to her cheeky charms and after a bit of resistance Bonita returns his affection.

Time passes and Holt rises in the Nazi machine while Bonita remains in Germany (why didn't she leave? Because then we would have no movie) Eventually Bonita ends up in a labor camp unwilling to renounce her loyalty to the USA and suffers fierce reprisals for her stubbornness. Holt ultimately allows his love for her to overcome his Nazi leanings. How does this turn out? Watch and find out.

This film made a lot of money for RKO in 1943 but today it seems like an obvious piece of wartime propaganda, melodramatic and shrill but for a few interesting moments. A close-up of Holt and Granville embracing in shadow was beautiful and a fine example of German Expressionism. There were scenes of Anna fleeing her enemies in the woods. These were lovely and evoked again those fabulous Universal horror films of the thirties. Nice film noir touches. Granville's flogging by the Nazi's was appropriately brutal. Otto Kruger and Hans Conried are always a welcome addition to any movie. H.B. Warner plays a very talkative Catholic priest.

Directed by Jules Dassin, it is interesting to see for that reason alone.