Directed by:
Fritz LangCinematography:
James Wong HoweComposer:
Hanns EislerCast:
Brian Donlevy, Walter Brennan, Anna Lee, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Nana Bryant, Margaret Wycherly, Dennis O'Keefe, Gene Lockhart, Alexander Granach (more)VOD (1)
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Beautifully shot by James Wong Howe and tightly scripted by Brecht and Lang, this Noir-like espionage thriller is set in occupied Czechoslovakia and revolves around the successful plot by the Czech resistance to assassinate Deputy Reich-Protector of Bohemia and Moravia "Hangman" Reinhard Heydrich, and the hunt by the Gestapo to track down the killers. (Cohen Media Group)
(more)Reviews (1)
Guilty pleasure. Historically and with the presented realities, the same travesty as if the Czechs had filmed, for example, the attack on Pearl Harbour in their own conditions. Here, the assassination of Heydrich is not committed by paratroopers, but by a single resistance fighter, a certain Dr. Svoboda. Heydrich is a caricature of evil, and the depiction of martial law and the resistance are almost an unwanted parody. The movie doesn't even focus on the assassination itself; for the vast majority of the runtime, we watch the Czech resistance attempt to blame Heydrich’s killing on an outed confidant, with Ocean’s Eleven-style trickery and subterfuge. The Americans, well… it's all so earnest, so blatantly stupid, but nice. A nice Hollywood recognition of the importance of the Czechoslovak resistance. For the record, this film was a favourite among the top of the SS at the time, especially Reich Protector K.H. Frank.
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