Man Hunt (1941)

British hunter Thorndike vacationing in Bavaria has Hitler in his gun sight. He is captured, beaten, left for dead, and escapes back to London where he is hounded by German agents and aided by a young woman.

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Geoffrey Household (novel), Dudley Nichols (screenplay),

Stars:

Walter Pidgeon, Joan Bennett, George Sanders

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Walter Pidgeon	...	Captain Alan Thorndike
Joan Bennett	...	Jerry Stokes
George Sanders	...	Major Quive-Smith
John Carradine	...	Mr. Jones
Roddy McDowall	...	Vaner
Ludwig Stössel	...	Doctor (as Ludwig Stossell)
Heather Thatcher	...	Lady Alice Risborough
Frederick Worlock	...	Lord Gerald Risborough
Roger Imhof	...	Captain Jensen
Egon Brecher	...	Pawnbroker
Lester Matthews	...	Major
Holmes Herbert	...	Saul Farnsworthy
Eily Malyon	...	Lyme Regis Postmistress
Arno Frey	...	Police Lieutenant
Frederick Vogeding	...	Ambassador (as Fredrik Vogeding)

Storyline

British hunter Thorndike vacationing in Bavaria has Hitler in his gun sight. He is captured, beaten, left for dead, and escapes back to London where he is hounded by German agents and aided by a young woman.

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Plot Keywords:

hunter | german agent | gun sight | hitler | would be assassin | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

26 May 1945 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Rogue Male

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When this movie was made, America was not part of World War II. At this time, a number of Hollywood studios were pro-American involvement in the war. This movie is one of a number of films made during the late 1930s and early 1940s that represented pro-American intervention in the war. These films include: A Yank in the R.A.F., Man Hunt, Foreign Correspondent, The Mortal Storm, Confessions of a Nazi Spy and Sergeant York.

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Goofs

London tube trains have a unique 4-rail electrification scheme - a third rail in the usual outside position at 420 volts and an unusual center rail at -210 volts. The movie's tunnel set has only the center rail.

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Quotes

Vaner: Have you committed a crime?
Captain Alan Thorndike: No.
Vaner: Was it, um, about a woman?
Captain Alan Thorndike: [smiling] I see you know life.
Vaner: I thought so. They're a dickens of a problem, aren't they, sir?

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Connections

Version of Rogue Male (1977)

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Soundtracks

"She Was Poor but She Was Honest"
(uncredited)
Music by R.P. Weston
Lyrics by Bert Lee
Sung by the street singers

User Reviews

Fine example of why Lang is the equal of Hitchcock.

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.