Chasse à l'homme

Man Hunt (1941)

Offhand the title and idea to this movie sounds a bit routine--a man singlehandedly avoiding authorities and pursuers. Even the extra theme that the Nazis are the bad guys sounded well worn, though the fact it was shot and released during that interesting two year period of WWII before the Americans got involved is something of a hook.

But I watched mainly because the formerly German director, Fritz Lang, is one of the handful of best directors ever.

And it pays off. The clichés are made fresh--even the Nazi types are different than you'd expect. The filming is great, showing the use of shadows and ominous points of view that film noir would take up in the next couple of years. And the plot has a mixture of one man against the world survival as well as boy meets girl romance.

It's terrific stuff, hardly dated at all. And the cinematography is by one of the stalwarts of the period, Arthur Miller, so it has lots of moving camera and interesting tight compositions.

The main character Alan Thorndike is played by Walter Pidgeon, one of those leading males who hasn't always stood up well over time. The deep voice, nice guy quality he is famous for isn't always matched by a pertinent acting intensity. His physical presence in a film is often a shade unconvincing. Lang might have found a perfect balance here because Thorndike's situation is so harsh, at least at times, and there is often a contrasting focus on Pidgeon's face and the innocence it is so good at projecting.

Oddly (and maybe with some political savvy, who knows), Pidgeon is a Canadian playing a Brit, with no attempt at an accent, so this supposedly patriotic movie has a weird falseness in every scene. The reason this might be on purpose is it's carried through all along--the leading woman, Joan Bennet, is a New Jersey girl who has adopted a strong Irish (I think, or Cockney) accent. And the main Nazi is played by upper crust British legend George Sanders (who was born in Russia). And so goes this international plot.

Of course, Lang was an expatriate German Jew working for Hollywood. He was becoming known for his anti-Nazi fervor to the dismay of the right wing Hays Code commission, which we now understand better. Lang's penchant for shooting at night (which goes back to his days in the German film industry) and his ability to make people sinister without actually showing them doing sinister things is partly why this simple movie works. It's also made complicated by the large range of locations used (or invented in the studio), and by the irony of the sweet love affair in the wings in the second half.

You might say it's a propaganda film if you want to use that word loosely. It does at the very end send a message to the viewers, and to Hitler, that the British are out to get him. But really this is a movie about good against evil, about free thinking versus doing what you're told. And about love, completely unfulfilled, but so incipient you feel it and want it.

Yes, see this, if you like movies from the period, or know you like Lang's films. Or if you like film noir, since this is a pre-cursor. Or see it if you appreciate a very well made film with an edgy historical setting.

"Man Hunt" is an excellent thriller that doesn't look like it is almost eighty years old, and is one of my favorite Fritz Lang films. Ahead of its time in the complexity of its characters, it is about a man (Walter Pidgeon) who tries to assassinate Hitler but gets caught. Left for dead at the bottom of a cliff by the authorities, he lives and makes his way to a boat on its way to London. However, on the ship there is someone all too interested in his story. Soon he realizes he is being followed and, once back in England, turns to Joan Bennett for help. Lang manages to do a very good job of portraying the Nazis in a more complex and insightful manner than other films of this time period (it was made in 1941).

Rumors were at the time (2009) that this was cleaned up and released on DVD to capitalize on the DVD release of Tom Cruise's Valkyrie. Oh well, I'll take my classic films any way that I can get them.

A noted big game hunter takes aim at Hitler and becomes the hunted. One of Lang's better American productions, a mighty fun thriller that gave him the opportunity to show where his sympathies lay. It does sag a little bit at times, but builds to an amazing climax. Lang's photographic style is evident, with gloomy cinematography that helps set the stage for noir. It's a treat to see Walter Pidgeon and George Sanders square off... two of the best voices in movies. And Joan Bennett (who always does terrific work with Lang) is great too, pulling off a reasonably convincing cockney accent, although her character throws herself at Pidgeon a bit too easily. The film provides a lot of thrills, traps and tension, and topical subject matter as well. A real treat, a movie that manages to be fun and yet isn't afraid to explore dark themes.

Captain Alan Thorndike (Walter Pidgeon) is captured by the Nazis after having been caught aiming a rifle at Adolf Hitler. He insists that he wasn't consciously making an assassination attempt, that he was merely a hunter relishing the prospect of taking down "big game". They naturally don't believe him, and try to make him a sign a "confession" that he was acting on behalf of his government. He refuses to sign his name to a lie, and they proceed to torture him and set him up for execution, but he escapes. Soon he makes it back to London, but they continue to pursue him on his home turf. Fortunately, he receives the help of a street waif, Jerry Stokes (Joan Bennett), who quickly overcomes her distrust and becomes quite taken with him. He tries not to put her in harms' way while evading sinister Nazi officials such as the well-spoken Major Quive-Smith (George Sanders).

Fritz Langs' wartime film, based on the story by Geoffrey Household, may not suit all tastes because it doesn't actually have a sense of urgency, at least not all the time. It even gets lighthearted and romantic at times, as Alan and Jerry start hitting it off. There still are some wonderfully moody moments, such as Alan managing to sneak onto a ship (where a precocious lad, well played by a very young Roddy McDowall, helps to hide him), and the sequence where a Gestapo thug portrayed by an effectively creepy John Carradine tails Alan into a subway tunnel. You do worry for the safety of Alan, especially when the odds are so stacked against him. Pidgeon does indeed have an interesting "devil may care" quality to him at times, and he and the lovely Bennett do have nice chemistry. Ms. Bennett is appealing playing a "common" type of gal who relishes in the comfort of a mansion at one point. Sanders is excellent, delivering just the right amount of quiet, refined menace.

Langs' direction keeps you riveted, especially in the opening few minutes where very little dialogue is spoken. The material may strike some viewers as far-fetched, but in his hands it makes for stylish entertainment.

Eight out of 10.

Fritz Lang's Man Hunt is a remarkable achievement in visual suspense and editing. Lang sustains tension throughout by creating a series of plausible hurdles for the protagonist to deal with giving the viewer little time to catch their breath as he is hunted by the Gestapo from Germany to London.

British officer and renowned big game hunter Alan Thorndike (Walter Pidgeon)literally sets his rifle's sight on Hitler at Berchtesgarten but is foiled by security then tortured by the Gestapo to sign a confession. When he refuses they throw him off of a cliff to cover-up but his fall is broken and he manages to escape back to England on a tramp steamer where Nazi agents (England and Germany were not at war at the moment)continue to pursue him. Enlisting the assistance of a cockney streetwalker (Joan Bennett) he eludes their grasp until cornered in a cave.

Fritz Lang's complete command of the medium in Man Hunt is a master class in film-making. Timing, atmosphere, mise en scene, use of sound and editing deftly create a realistic world that morphs into Kafkaesque nightmare of unrelenting tension and suspense.

Pidgeon's Thorndike has a clumsy James Bond like quality and charm about him as he parries with head nemesis George Sanders Gestapo chief. Sanders is a fascinating villain displaying a fluent bi-lingual authority (another testament to Lang's superb ability at visual story telling) checkmating Thorndike continuously.

Within in this suspenseful framework Lang manages to comment on the English class system, hunting ethics, the enemy within and the need for US involvement in fighting Fascism without missing a beat. The score does some arm twisting but doesn't interfere too much with Lang's magnificent construction and follow through. Man Hunt is precision suspense film making at its best.