Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

kijii Fritz Lang made a riveting movie, here, which could be viewed on several levels. It starts with a world-famous British big-game hunter, Capt. Alan Thorndike (Walter Pidgeon), on vacation in Bavaria in 1939. Since his thrill is the stalk sport more than the kill, he stalks Hitler to his hideout and puts him in his gun site without trying to kill him. He then loads his gun with his finger ready to squeeze the trigger. But he is overtaken by Hitler's guards and brought to the headquarters of the Nazi Gestapo leader, Major Quive-Smith (George Sanders). Quive-Smith is also an avid hunter and speaks perfect English. When Thorndike is told to sign a letter as an English agent assigned to kill Hitler, he refuses and is tortured. After torture, he still refuses to sign the letter, so Quive-Smith decides to kill him by staging an accident: having him fall from a steep, deep cliff. But, Thorndike survives the fall and manages to become a stowaway--with the help of the cabin boy (played by Roddy McDowall)--on a Dutch ship bound for England. He is constantly chased, hidden, and hunted throughout the movie--first by Nazi spies, then by London police. It really doesn't matter if this movie was made as a propaganda film or not. It totally captivated me and held me in my seat to until the very end.Of interest to me is that this movie was released in the USA on 20 June 1941. Pearl Harbor was not attacked until 7 December 1941. So, at the time this movie was released in the US, the US had not officially entered the war.

JoeKulik In general, I don't believe that any government has the right to use a legitimate Art Form, including Cinema, as a vehicle for propaganda, but most times I can live with it. This film, however, is S-O-O-O Filled with trite, "over the top", and even laughable propaganda that it comes across more as a Farcical Comedy rather than a Suspense Drama for me here in 2016.So, Thorndyke aims a rifle at Hitler for "sport" rather than because he intended to kill him? (LOL - Give me a break, OK??) Why the Germans would expend all the time & resources to track down this one guy all over England is never made clear, & is extremely unrealistic. That Thorndyke never acts on the fact that Jerry is obviously in love with him comes across as him being Just TOO Stupid to realize how she feels, rather than any chivalry or gallantry on his part. Only an IDIOT would've allowed Jerry to stay in that same apartment after he knew that the Nazis tracked him there. The outrageous ending, with Thorndyke literally deserting his military unit so that he can now hunt Hitler "for real" is from Deep Outer Space, or even from an alternate Bizarro Universe. Thorndyke living in a cave while wearing a suit & tie... Well, you get the idea.If I was a Brit watching this in 1941, I would've been worried for my country because of FOOLS like Thorndyke defending it, rather than to be inspired to feel Patriotic. On the other hand, it might have been a "wash" since the Germans were depicted as being Equally Moronic.I still gave it a "6" though, because it was an entertaining & suspenseful film, if you sent your brain on vacation while viewing it, that is.Although this film is interesting for several reasons, overall I found it to be an insult to my intelligence. ... [email protected]

happy_hangman 'Every good soldier needs a crest for his cap!'... Currently enjoying Fritz Lang's 1941 'Man Hunt'. Some very imaginative cinematography from the silent auteur, but that's only to be expected. Lang's loathing for the Nazi's is set in full flight, and the urbane George Sanders and John Carradine are gloriously oily as the baddies. Walter Pidgeon makes a rather more genial hero than Geoffrey Household's protagonist in the original story, 'Rogue Male', but it's still an amiable and engaging performance, and he works well with Joan Bennett as the working-girl (never stated explicitly, but still a surprising choice for a heroine in a 1940 film) who befriends him in adversity. Some great, tense set pieces and a great story - let down a little by the truly awful mock- Cockney accents of Bennett and many of the supporting players (most of London sounds like a Cary Grant impressionists convention). Great wee film.

Scott LeBrun Captain Alan Thorndike (Walter Pidgeon) is captured by the Nazis after having been caught aiming a rifle at Adolf Hitler. He insists that he wasn't consciously making an assassination attempt, that he was merely a hunter relishing the prospect of taking down "big game". They naturally don't believe him, and try to make him a sign a "confession" that he was acting on behalf of his government. He refuses to sign his name to a lie, and they proceed to torture him and set him up for execution, but he escapes. Soon he makes it back to London, but they continue to pursue him on his home turf. Fortunately, he receives the help of a street waif, Jerry Stokes (Joan Bennett), who quickly overcomes her distrust and becomes quite taken with him. He tries not to put her in harms' way while evading sinister Nazi officials such as the well-spoken Major Quive-Smith (George Sanders).Fritz Langs' wartime film, based on the story by Geoffrey Household, may not suit all tastes because it doesn't actually have a sense of urgency, at least not all the time. It even gets lighthearted and romantic at times, as Alan and Jerry start hitting it off. There still are some wonderfully moody moments, such as Alan managing to sneak onto a ship (where a precocious lad, well played by a very young Roddy McDowall, helps to hide him), and the sequence where a Gestapo thug portrayed by an effectively creepy John Carradine tails Alan into a subway tunnel. You do worry for the safety of Alan, especially when the odds are so stacked against him. Pidgeon does indeed have an interesting "devil may care" quality to him at times, and he and the lovely Bennett do have nice chemistry. Ms. Bennett is appealing playing a "common" type of gal who relishes in the comfort of a mansion at one point. Sanders is excellent, delivering just the right amount of quiet, refined menace.Langs' direction keeps you riveted, especially in the opening few minutes where very little dialogue is spoken. The material may strike some viewers as far-fetched, but in his hands it makes for stylish entertainment.Eight out of 10.