Hangmen Also Die! (1943)

When film noir was discovered - remember the ones making the films at the time were not consciously trying to create a style but were using economical means of getting the most out of their shooting dollar - anyway, the film scholars went back and looked at the Hollywood movies of the 1940s and 50s and chose out the ones that seemed to have that similar something that made it film noir. Economical shooting locations like indoor sets; night time; black and white film stock; and often second tier actors, although every so often an "A" list actor does appear.

There was something more; the stories had a pessimistic point of view that seemed to cast fate as an active participant in the story.

The best noirs cast flawed characters working at cross purposes and waiting for the axe to fall, and sometimes it did. Like I was saying, later scholars took old movies that more or less conformed to these flexible standards and began labeling them film noir from the French for "black movie." In today's film catalog we see quite a few movies that are classified as noir, but many are lumped in here just because they are hard to pigeonhole. Such a movie is Fritz Lang's Hangmen Also Die.

Hangmen Also Die! (note the exclamation point, it's theirs) is the timely story of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi Butcher of Prague, also known as "The Hangman." Heydrich was an early Nazi and had diligently worked his way to be within a seat or two of the throne of power, yes, Adolf Hitler himself considered Heydrich as a possible heir. Heydrich was known as a particularly bloodthirsty Nazi who planned the extermination camps for Hitler's "Final Solution." Heydrich also killed many who opposed his plans in any way. He was particularly hated by the Czechs and Jews for these reasons.

The movie was shot during WWII soon after the events happened in 1942. Herr "Reichsprotektor Heydrich" (Governor of Czechoslovakia) was attacked by a pair of assassins parachuted in by British Intelligence. Although the attack seemingly failed, infection from dirt blown into his minor wounds from the bomb killed him in a few days. The Germans retaliated and wiped a couple of villages from the map. Lidice was one. So went the actual story. The movie was a typical Hollywoodization of the truth.

The story was written by playwright Bertolt Brecht, and was one of his few film credits. Fritz Lang directed and both men were of German origin and both were ardent anti-Nazis; that helps to explain why the movie was made in the first place.

Why the story was so radically changed is unknown, but the movie uses a Czech doctor named Swoboda (Freedom) as the central figure, played by Brian Donlevy (Beau Geste, Destry Rides Again) who played supporting parts in dozens if not hundreds of great films. With Donlevy, a competent actor but no leading man getting top billing, our casting is in trouble from the get-go. A couple of great character actors do help out with Walter Brennan taking a break from his crotchety, garrulous codger stereotype and playing a refined college professor, complete with Van Dyke - totally against type.

The assassination of Heydrich throws a whole bunch of Czechs who otherwise would never meet into contact and their activities are quite interesting. Brennan's daughter is Anna Lee who witnesses Donlevy's escape but points the Nazis in the wrong direction. The movie does do its job in stimulating the viewer's patriotism and creates sympathy for the poor Czechs, just as it was supposed to. The movie ends on a hopeful note, whereas the Nazi response to the real incident was tragic and a blot on human history.

Besides Fritz Lang's typical well done direction, the movie benefits from shadowy cinematography from the masterful James Wong Howe.

The rarely seen movie is available on DVD from Kino Video and is in a good state of preservation. The movie is 1.33:1 format, in black and white, and runs 134 minutes. Available for purchase separately, it is fairly expensive while it is also included in the Kino five title set Film Noir: The Dark Side of Hollywood for considerable savings.

Hangmen Also Die! would be interesting to those of Czech descent or Fritz Lang fans. As I mentioned, it's not really film noir, so unless you are a Lang completist, you can skip this one.

Another Lang I enjoyed was Cloak and Dagger.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening