Hitler's Madman

Back in the 1930s and 40s, several very small film production companies were known collectively as the 'Poverty Row studios'. This is because they made films with the tiniest of budgets and these outfits generally didn't even own studios but rented space on major studios' lots....filming after hours when the staff of the more prestigious studios were finished for the day. Among these tiny outfits was PRC--maker of some of the cheapest and worst films. of the day. However, something strange happened with its film "Hitler's Madman"....apparently it wasn't a bad film after all In fact, it got attention from the largest and most prestigious studio, MGM, and MGM bought the film and released it as one of their own!

The story is broadly based on the assassination of the Nazi governor of Czechoslovakia, Reinhardt Heydrich. Heydrich was among the most evil of all the Nazis, having come up with the plan known as 'The Final Solution', i.e., the extermination of all the Jews. And, because he was such an important figure to the Nazi regime that the people of Ledice, Czechoslovakia were liquidated in retaliation for this killing.

So is this film any good and does it hold up well today? Surprisingly, yes...it is very well made and effective...and still packs a powerful punch. Part of it is that although the film lacks stars (not unusual for a PRC film), it has some excellent and familiar character actors. Additionally, although the film plays a bit fast and loose with the facts, it actually sticks closer than you'd expect and the way the Nazis were portrayed was rather realistic...as most low-budget war films of the era tended to make the Nazis either stupid or ridiculously evil (more like Snidely Whiplash than a Nazi). Overall, I was impressed by this one....much of it because I just cannot believe PRC would be able to make a quality picture!

An interesting movie that does not do much to inspire the viewer through its portrayal of the Czech resistance, though they face a grim ending, but definitely catches the interest in the portrayal of Nazi brutality through the part played by John Carradine as Reich Protector Heydrich, who routinely had people shot in order to maintain a level of fear and control. The characterizations of the townspeople are too quaint for this subject, but they (the townspeople) do catch on as Carradine's brutality increases, with the most memorable scene being when he and his men take over a philosophy class, in a scene that manages to get fairly intense. If it were just up to Alan Curtis to carry the film as Karel Vavra, the film would fall into a dark pit of boredom, since within any resistance movement there is always collaborators within families that need to be killed. Those characters are all left out, and so the drama quotient is not very intense. Nonetheless, Carradine's Heydrich is definitely worth watching.

This film story of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich (titled by the Nazis as Reichs Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, by the Czechs as "The Hangman", and also one of the architects of "The Final Solution")and of the subsequent annihilation of the village of Lidice by the Nazis, really does not do justice to the subject. Although released by MGM, it was actually produced by poverty row Producer Releasing Corporation (PRC). Some of the cast members are old familiars and rather good, but none give a feeling that these are Czechs being murdered by Hitler's minions. As war propaganda, it is a success, and it at least gives the spirit of the tragedy of Lidice, if not historically detailed facts. John Carradine is effective as Heydrich, especially in his deathbed scene.

The facts about the assassination briefly are that two Czech partisans were parachuted into Czechoslovakia from an RAF plane. They managed to ambush Heydrich's open Mercedes, throw a bomb under it, and escape to a church. Heydrich died a few days later from complications arising from the penetration of his spleen by bomb fragments and debris from the car upholstery. Using torture, the Nazis discovered the whereabouts of the two partisans and the SS killed them at once. Lidice was picked more or less at random from among villages known to have anti-German leanings. On Hitler's orders, the men were shot and the women and children removed to camps, while the buildings of the site were levelled. When it became known in the allied world, this made excellent anti-Nazi propaganda, and more than one film was made of the subject. It may be that the massive retaliation backfired somewhat on the Nazis also by stiffening Czech resistance to the occupation.

This is one of those little typical WW II allied propaganda-flicks, made during WW II. It's rather simplistic and cheap looking all but its all enough to still make this movie a good watch, of course especially when you're a fan of the genre. Of course the biggest problem with this movie now days is its propaganda undertone that can be basically seen back in every sequence of the movie. Cowards become heroes and bad men turn into good ones. It makes the movie a bit ridicules and not always credible enough to watch now days but it's a part of the time period the movie got made in. The story itself is quite interesting on its won right but you feel it deserved a better and more fair and closer to the truth treatment. Who knows, maybe filmmakers will pick up this story once again and give it the treatment it really deserves and making it the great movie that this movie in potential could had also been. None of the actors really known to impress within this movie but John Carradine still manages to push the movie to greater heights with his role of Nazi SS commander. It's a movie worth watching due to its main story but it's production values and acting make this movie also far from a great or impressive one. 6/10

From his relatively safe base in England, Czech soldier Alan Curtis (as Karel Vavra) parachutes into his former hometown of Lidice, now controlled by bloodthirsty German Nazis. The village is a resource-rich riverside farming community, now helping to fatten Hitler's madmen. Hiding out and encouraging residents to support British allies through sabotage, Mr. Curtis reacquaints himself with glamorous schoolteacher Patricia Morison (as Jarmilla Hanka). While on his mission to bolster local resistance, Curtis is unable to resist Ms. Morrison's movie-star beauty. Their greatest obstacle is John Carradine (as Reinhardt Heydrich), an especially nasty Nazi called "The Hangman" and "The Protector" (of Hitler's Third Reich)...

This was director Douglas Sirk's first American film, after arriving from Hitler's Germany. He makes a great first impression on US shores and had, no doubt, some personal observations about Adolf Hitler and his fascist regime. The brutality is addressed more vividly in modern movies. Older films had to tone down the violence or omit it altogether in favor of gun-ho propaganda. Sirk manages to covey the horror without gore and tells the story exceptionally well...

"Hitler's Madman" is bogged down by the ill-placed Hollywood-style romance played by co-leads Curtis and Morrison. They are out of place, here, but the film's supporting roles are marvelous. The "Madman" in the title refers to Mr. Carradine. There are a couple others who would have made "Hitler's Madmen" a more appropriate heading. Carradine has several great scenes. So does gluttonous Ludwig Stossel (as Herman Bauer), the mayor inserted by the Nazis. And, while only seen briefly, Sirk has portly Howard Freeman (as Heinrich Himmler) primping memorably in a mirror while planning a slaughter...

From the obvious twists in Edgar Kennedy's showy alcohol-drenched hermit (Nepomuk) to the subtle revenge enacted by mournful German mayor's wife Johanna Hofer (as Magda), there are engaging characterizations. Yet, the story belongs to the "organizers and intellectuals" targeted by Hitler, and represented by veteran actor Ralph Morgan (as Jan Hanka). The father of leading lady Morrison, Mr. Morgan initially doesn't want to support the resistance because he believes his entire village could be destroyed. His character's journey is the one to follow and Morgan's "Jan Hanka" walks away with the film.

******** Hitler's Madman (6/10/1943) Douglas Sirk ~ Alan Curtis, Patricia Morison, Ralph Morgan, John Carradine