Movie Cosmos - Hangmen Also Die!

Description:

During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, surgeon Dr. Franticek Svoboda, a Czech patriot, assassinates the brutal "Hangman of Europe", Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich, and is wounded in the process. In his attempt to escape, he is helped by history professor Stephen Novotny and his daughter Mascha.

Top Cast >

Brian Donlevy

As Dr. Franticek Svoboda

Walter Brennan

As Prof. Stephen Novotny

Anna Lee

As Masha Novotny

Gene Lockhart

As Emil Czaka

Dennis O'Keefe

As Jan Horak

Margaret Wycherly

As Ludmilla Novotny

Nana Bryant

As Mrs. Hellie Novotny

William Roy

As Boda Novotny

Hans Heinrich von Twardowski

As Reinhard Heydrich

Alexander Granach

As Gestapo Insp. Alois Gruber

Tonio Selwart

As Chief of Gestapo Kurt Haas

Jonathan Hale

As Dedic

Lionel Stander

As Banya

Sarah Padden

As Mrs. Georgia Dvorak

Edmund MacDonald

As Dr. Pillar

Byron Foulger

As Bartos

Virginia Farmer

As Mrs. Nimitz

Ludwig Donath

As Schirmer

George Irving

As Neeval

James Bush

As Peacock

Arno Frey

As Camp Lieutenant Itnut

Lester Sharpe

As Rudy

Arthur Loft

As Gen. Votruba

Reinhold Schünzel

As Gestapo Insp. Ritter

Chester Conklin

As Cook (uncredited)

Claire McDowell

As Counterwoman (uncredited)

John Abbott

As Hostage (scenes deleted)

Louis Adlon

As Adjutant (uncredited)

Erville Alderson

As Liberal Official (uncredited)

Richard Alexander

As Slugger in Theater (uncredited)

Dwight Frye

As Hostage

Ralph Dunn

As Czech Policeman (uncredited)

Bud Jamison

As Fat Man (uncredited)

Philip Van Zandt

As Officer (uncredited)

Sam Harris

As Man at Briefing (uncredited)

Top Crew >

Fritz Lang

Director, Original Story, Adaptation, Producer

Bertolt Brecht

Adaptation, Original Story

John Wexley

Screenplay

Arnold Pressburger

Producer, Music

James Wong Howe

Director of Photography

Hanns Eisler

Music

Gene Fowler Jr.

Editor

William S. Darling

Art Direction

Robert Stephanoff

Makeup Artist

Carley Harriman

Production Manager

Walter Mayo

Assistant Director

Fred Pressburger

Assistant Director

Julia Heron

Set Decoration

Ned Scott

Still Photographer

Eleanor Behm

Costume Design

Fred Lau

Sound Recordist

Jack Whitney

Sound Recordist

Reviews:

CinemaSerf (7/10)

Fritz Lang has assembled a really solid cast for this depiction of the Nazi terror inflicted on the Czech people after they decided to rid themselves of their German overlord Reinhard Heydrich. That historical event happens pretty early on, allowing us to focus on just how brutal the regime was, and on just how courageous those left were by continuing to oppose their oppressors despite some fairly arbitrary methods of retribution. The assassin must find shelter, evade detection and learn whom to trust as he watches those around him suffer - regardless of any guilt. Probably my favourite performance comes via the collaborating "Czaka" (Gene Lockhart) who plays the local beer magnate-cum-stooge really quite well. Walter Brennan is likewise effective as the elderly historian professor "Novotny" as is Alexander Granach as the Gestapo man charged with finding the original culprit. It is a little heavy on the dialogue side at times, but the director takes his time to imbue a real sense of the horror faced by the population as lawful lawlessness gradually robbed them of even the most basic of civil liberties, and the darkly lit photography is particularly evocative too. It's been retold once or twice, but to nowhere near the same standard and though largely a work of fiction, is still potent stuff.

2022-06-26