This film is what _Desperate Journey_ (Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan) might have been if it had been a B-film. (I know: _Desperate Journey_ isn't that good to start with---that's the problem!) Three ex-gangsters take up a wealthy man's offer of 1 MILLION dollars to anyone who can bring in Hitler--dead or alive. The three join the RCAF(why?) and parachute their way into Germany, bringing along their hapless pilot. I wish I could say that the film builds to a tension-filled climax, but every scene becomes even more (unintentionally) hilarious. The leaden dialogue is more than matched by the mind-bogglingly-dreadful German accents affected by the leading players. ("Vat? Ve haf only until Sursday, hmm?") In one scene, a sneering guard actually checks passes by repeating "So! So! So!" In hindsight, some of the portrayals of wartime Germany are actually touchingly innocent: the small prison holding the three gangsters is identified as "Dachau," a name that did not yet have horror associated with it. Now we know...
Like many an earnest wartime film, _Hitler: DoA_ had a sincere message (there is more to the Nazi menace than Adolf Hitler). Yet I have a hard time believing that, even in wartime, its schlocky delivery moved very many Americans to consider the deeper meaning of the war in which they wre engaged (yeah, right!) This one was definitely for the kids, an attempt to re-make the American gangster film with a wartime theme, proving that even American criminals have a basic grasp of decency and heroism, far above that shown by the evil Nazis. Throw in lots of chases and shoot-em-ups, and voila! You have a gangster film magically metamorphosed into patriotic material. If you don't expect too much, you can enjoy this one as an almost-fun bit of camp.
Like many an earnest wartime film, _Hitler: DoA_ had a sincere message (there is more to the Nazi menace than Adolf Hitler). Yet I have a hard time believing that, even in wartime, its schlocky delivery moved very many Americans to consider the deeper meaning of the war in which they wre engaged (yeah, right!) This one was definitely for the kids, an attempt to re-make the American gangster film with a wartime theme, proving that even American criminals have a basic grasp of decency and heroism, far above that shown by the evil Nazis. Throw in lots of chases and shoot-em-ups, and voila! You have a gangster film magically metamorphosed into patriotic material. If you don't expect too much, you can enjoy this one as an almost-fun bit of camp.