Hangmen Also Die! (1943)

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Bertolt Brecht (adaptation) (original story) and
Fritz Lang (adaptation) (original story) ...

Release Date:

15 April 1943 (USA)

Genre:

War | Drama

Tagline:

The shot heard 'round the world!

Plot:

On May 27, 1942 the Nazi Reichsprotector of Bohemia/Moravia, the "Hangman" Reinhard Heydrich, died from...

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Assassination | Resistance | Traitor | Hostage

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Hans Heinrich von Twardowski	...	Reinhard Heydrich
Brian Donlevy	...	Dr. Franticek Svoboda / Karel Vanek
Walter Brennan	...	Prof. Stephen Novotny
Anna Lee	...	Nasha Novotny
Nana Bryant	...	Mrs. Hellie Novotny
William Roy	...	Boda Novotny (as Billy Roy)
Margaret Wycherly	...	Ludmilla Novotny
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Jan Horak (Nasha's fiancé)
Gene Lockhart	...	Emil Czaka (brewer)
Tonio Selwart	...	Chief of Gestapo Kurt Haas
Alexander Granach	...	Gestapo Insp. Alois Gruber
Reinhold Schünzel	...	Gestapo Insp. Ritter
Ludwig Donath	...	Schirmer
Arno Frey	...	Camp lieutenant Itnut
Sarah Padden	...	Mrs. Georgia Dvorak (grocer)

Also Known As:

Hangmen Also Die! (UK)
Lest We Forget
Never Surrender (USA) (working title)
No Surrender (USA) (working title)
Trust the People (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:134 min (Turner library print) | France:117 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2005) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved | Spain:13 | Sweden:15

Company:

Arnold Pressburger Films

Trivia:

French censorship visa : # 5465.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The character of Reinhard Heydrich wears the collar tabs of an SS-Gruppenfuehrer (group leader, roughly lieutenant general), three oak leaves. As Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia his rank was higher, SS-Obergruppenfuehrer (higher group leader, roughly full general). The proper insignia for this rank in 1942 was three oak leaves with a single pip underneath.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le mépris (1963)

Soundtrack:

Vltava

Bitter WW II movie

I saw this today for the first time on TCM TV. This is an apocryphal version of the assassination of the Nazi leader and Czech "protector" Reinhard Heydrich by resistance fighter in World War II. The assassin evades the widening Nazi dragnet in Czechoslovakia even to the point of self-sacrifice. The Nazis plan to provide an "assassin" who is actually a Czech traitor, played admirably by Gene Lockhart. Brian Donlevy plays Dr. Svoboda aka Karel Vansky and Anna Lee is Nasha Novotna with Dennis O'Keefe her fiance as Jan Horak. Many old movie oldtimers are in this film, and the intensity builds up to immense pitch. Some say this is all propoaganda by Hollywood, but lest we forget, it could happen here. I notice lately TCM and AMC TV are playing a great deal of the old WW II movies.