Hitler's Children (1943)

Director:

Edward Dmytryk

Writers:

Emmet Lavery (screenplay)
Gregor Ziemer (book)

Release Date:

6 January 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

SHOCK To hear a woman cry "Let me be the mother of a soldier for Hitler! SHOCK To know how they make sure that women will bear the "right kind" of children...or none at all!

Plot:

This lurid exposé of the Hitler Youth follows the woes of an American girl declared legally German by the Nazi government.

Plot Keywords:

School | German | Nazi | Illicit Love | Trial

Cast

Tim Holt	...	Lieutenant Karl Bruner
Bonita Granville	...	Anna Miller
Kent Smith	...	Professor Nichols
Otto Kruger	...	Colonel Henkel
H.B. Warner	...	The Bishop
Lloyd Corrigan	...	Franz Erhart
Erford Gage	...	Dr. Schmidt
Hans Conried	...	Dr. Graf
Gavin Muir	...	Nazi Major
Nancy Gates	...	Brenda
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peter van Eyck	...	Arresting Sergeant (as Goetz Van Eyck)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-11 (2005) | USA:Approved (PCA #8878) | Australia:PG

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Following the excellent box office returns both director Edward Dmytryk and writer Emmet Lavery were given $5,000 bonuses for their work.

Quotes:

Dr. Schmidt: To the boys of Adolf Hitler, this hour can have but one meaning. At this hour when the Earth is closest to the Sun, when it is consecrating itself to the Sun, we have only one thought: we too must be close to our Sun. We too must consecrate our lives to our Sun, and the Sun that shines for us is Adolf Hitler. Attention! You will repeat after me the oath of allegiance to our Fuehrer! "I consecrate my life to Hitler."
[Boys repeat]
Dr. Schmidt: "I am ready to sacrifice my life for Hitler."
[Boys repeat]
Dr. Schmidt: "I am ready to die for Hitler."
[...]

Movie Connections:

Version of Education for Death (1943)

Soundtrack:

Fur Elise

excellent and sad war-time love story

I found this film to be one of the most captivating and well-kept movie secrets of all time. If it is the first time you see it, you might be surprised that it was boldly made before WWII was over. The film stretches some emotions like taffy, while it is not overly-graphic, and only moderately intense. It instills in you with what seems to be a fair overview of the Nazi regime, while entertaining you with a plot of escape & a love story. To be expected, the conversation in it is surreal, typical of the film's era, but the only drawback for me is that Bonita Granville (age 19 when the film was made), who plays Anna Miller, passed in 1988 and actually stopped making major films after 1950. I did not realize what a beautiful girl she was until I discovered her in this picture a few weeks ago. A film for all generations (I was born 20 years after WWII).