Hangmen Also Die! (1943)

After the Nazi administrator of Czechoslovakia is shot, his assassin tries to elude the Gestapo and struggles with his impulse to give himself up as hostages are executed.

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Bertolt Brecht (adaptation), Fritz Lang (adaptation),

Stars:

Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Brian Donlevy, Walter Brennan

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 (as Louis Donath)
Arno Frey	...	Camp Lieutenant Itnut
Sarah Padden	...	Mrs. Georgia Dvorak (Grocer)

Storyline

On May 27, 1942 the Nazi Reichsprotector of Bohemia/Moravia, the "Hangman" Reinhard Heydrich, died from the bullets of unidentified resistance fighters. Hangmen Also Die is the story of Heydrich's assassination in fictionalized form. It was Bertolt Brecht's only comparitively successful Hollywood project; the money he received allowed him to write "The Visions of Simone Marchand", "Schwyk in the Second World War" and his adaptation of Webster's "The Duchess of Malfi". Hanns Eisler won an Academy Award for his musical score.

---

Plot Keywords:

nazi | assassination | resistance | gestapo | hostage | 

---

Taglines:

The shot heard 'round the world!

---

Genres:

Film-Noir | Thriller | War

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

15 April 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Never Surrender

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arnold Pressburger Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min 134 min (Turner library print) 117 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Two cast members have played characters involved with the sale of real estate to the vampire based on Bram Stoker's novel. Alexander Granach appeared as Knock, the House Broker in F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu. Dwight Frye appeared as Renfield in Tod Browning's Dracula.

---

Goofs

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.

---

Quotes

Dr. Franticek Svoboda: Dedric, what about the taxi driver?
Dedic: Jumped out of a window at the Gestapo. They'll get nothing from him.
Dr. Franticek Svoboda: I never met him. I wish I did.

---

Crazy Credits

The end of the film reads "NOT The End".

---

Connections

Referenced in Apartment Zero (1988)

---

Soundtracks

"No Surrender"
Music by Hanns Eisler
Lyrics by Sam Coslow

User Reviews

Fabulous for the time--right smack in the middle of it all

Hangmen Also Die! (1943)

The best part of this movie is knowing it was made right in the middle of the war, not in some recreation of the events. It's a little hyperbolic, for sure, but really well acted (both the Nazis and the Czechs), and it ends up being a battle of wits and tricks between the two sides.

Fritz Lang was a refuge from Nazi Europe and made this in Hollywood, with an expected sensibility for the cruelties and barbarism of the occupying nasties. And they probably were this nasty--worse, in truth, though less comically so, as the movie sometimes pushes it a bit. Still, really enjoyable, in all. Yet, somehow, it was long. The twists from one scene to another started to sound familiar, and the tension was sustained rather than invigorated, if that makes any sense.

Brian Donlevy is the leading good guy here, and he's always a little less than compelling, though he is not in most of the scenes so I suppose that's fine. The double-crosser was played by Gene Lockhart, whose presence grows as the movie gets on, and by the end he's really pretty amazing (far beyond the caricature of, say, the judge he played in "Miracle on 34th Street"). Walter Brennan makes an appearance, recognizable mostly by his voice. Two of the Nazi higher-ups were terrific, both the Pilsner guzzling brute and the slightly comical but scary gestapo head.

Lang is no fool, and he makes this movie not only a pleasure, but an important tool to remind viewers to be involved, to realize that you can fight oppression, even Nazi oppression, with enough wits and sacrifice.