Son of Hitler (1978)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Rodney Amateau

Writers:

Burkhard Driest (writer)
Lukas Heller (writer)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

The leader of a right-wing German political party discovers that an illiterate woodcarver is actually the son of Adolf Hitler...

Plot Keywords:

Hitler | Independent Film | Character Name In Title

Cast

Bud Cort	...	Willi Hitler
Peter Cushing	...	Heinrich Haussner
Leo Gordon	...	Tuennes
Felicity Dean	...	Valeska
Anton Diffring	...	Gernheim
Heinz Bennent	...	Ostermayer
Dieter Schidor	...	Sommer
Burkhard Driest	...	Muller
Lynn Cartwright	...	Annie
Peter Kern	...	Asylum Attendant
Til Kiwe	...	Dr. Puttkamer
Peter Capell	...	Fritz Buchmann
Herbert Fux	...	Older Tramp
Rolf Zacher	...	Younger Tramp
Larry Dolgin	...	Karl

Also Known As:

Hitler's Son (USA)
Hitlers Sohn (West Germany)

Country:

UK | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Trivia:

The name of the political party, NEIN! stands for "Never Encourage Intellectual Nonsense".

One of a kind Nazi satire is unfunny and painful to watch. Still it has one of Peter Cushing's rare comedic turns which makes it worth enduring for bad movie lovers.

Its nice to see Peter Cushing do comedy but couldn't he have picked a better movie?

Cushing (who is quite good if badly directed) plays an ex-Nazi general looking for the son of Adolf Hitler, who was spirited away after the war. Cushing wants to use him as part of the NEIN party, a fascist organization attempting to get power. When Willi appears in the person of Bud Cort things don't go as anyone planned.

This movie, which appears never to really have played anywhere, is one of a kind. I don't know how else to describe it. Offensive? Unfunny? Inept? How many words do I have? I would wonder how this film ever got made, but I suspect from the things that do work, that the script probably read well and seemed like a good idea (at least worth a paycheck for Cort,Cushing and Anton Diffring). The trouble occurred when it was filmed and what seemed like comedy and satire turned dark and decidedly not humorous, at least as its presented here. Then again I'm probably reaching for straws since this movie seems determined not to be anything else other than unnerving, why else would be have constant shots of Hitler cut into the action. It also seems to want to make a point of some kind, but I haven't figure out what that is.

Should you see this? For bad movie lovers and those who must see movies unlike anything else its a must. This movie will scar you and have you screaming in pain like the best of them (figuratively speaking). There is nothing quite like this film, sort of like there is nothing like chewing on aluminum foil or putting lemon juice in a paper cut. Anyone not looking for bad or unique cinematic experiences should stay away.

3 out of 10 for bad movie lovers, otherwise this is impossible to rate.

An aside. Hitler probably really did have a son, the result of his time in France during the First World War. He grew up working for the railroad and having almost no contact with his father.