Man Hunt (1941)
Directed by Fritz Lang

Film Review

Himself a fugitive from Nazi Germany, Fritz Lang was better placed than most to expose the darker side of Hitler's regime and his first anti-Nazi film pulls few punches, portraying all Germans as nasty, cold-hearted thugs who were single-mindedly intent on provoking a war against the liberal democracies of the West.  The film was made in 1941, at a time when America was standing aloof from the war in Europe and reluctant to take sides.  The head of Twentieth Century Fox, Darryl F. Zanuck, was particularly concerned by the film's negative portrayal of the German people, to the extent that he forbade Lang from participating in its editing.  The Hays Office, Hollywood's censor, described Man Hunt as a hate film and insisted on changes to the script to tone down the brutality exhibited by the Nazis (hence much of the violence takes place off screen).  Even with these high-minded tamperings, Man Hunt remained an uncompromising attack on Nazism and on the threat posed by the German war machine.  It became one of the first, and arguably most effective, anti-Nazi propaganda pieces to come out of Hollywood.  Of course, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941, six months after the film's American release, things were very different.  Lang's three subsequent anti-German films were far better received and more in keeping with the public and political sentiment of the time.

Man Hunt is atypical for Lang - a rambling Boy's Own adventure thriller that feels like a close cousin of Hitchcock's The 39 Steps.  By adapting a novel by Geoffrey Household, Lang was able to express his loathing and fears for the regime that he had fled in the early 1930s, seeing further than most where Nazism would lead.  It is therefore no accident that it is one of the director's bleakest films and Lang employs his flair for expressionism to convey the brutality and immorality of the Nazis in subtle but extremely effective ways.  The best example of this is the scene in which the hero (Walter Pidgeon), having been badly beaten up, is taken to the principal villain (a sadistic Nazi played with chilling relish by a superb George Sanders) who is intent on extracting a confession.  We see only the magnified shadow of the hero on the floor and consequently have a far greater sense of the savagery that has been meted out to him by the Nazi thugs.  This expressionistic touch also accentuates the hero's personal resolve, diminishing the power of his Nazi tormentor, who resembles a petulant and ineffectual child in the face of such indomitable stoicism.

In addition to the exceptional performances from Pidgeon and Sanders, the film boasts some impressive contributions from a young Roddy McDowall (in his first American film after being evacuated from London), a captivating Joan Bennett and a sinister John Carradine.  The humanity and generosity exhibited by McDowall and Bennett (both idealised impressions of British spunk and virtue) offer a stark contrast with the calculating villainy of the Nazis, adding further muscle to Langs's overt political agenda.  Whilst the film is well-directed, well-acted and well-designed (the sets, including a strikingly authentic mock-up of the London underground, are exceptional), its obvious bias, tendency for caricature and uneven pacing prevent it from being a favourite among admirers of Fritz Lang's work.  The main value of Man Hunt is that it powerfully captures the mood of its time and allowed Lang to express his revulsion for what is now judged to be one of the most evil regimes in human history.  It took a while before America saw what Lang saw and, in retrospect, his film now feels chillingly prescient.

Film Synopsis

In July 1939, British big game hunter Captain Alan Thorndike manages to reach Hitler's country residence and is about to shoot the dictator with his rifle when he is attacked by a guard.  Thorndike is taken to a senior Nazi officer, Major Quive-Smith, who threatens to have him tortured unless he signs a confession that he was sent by the British government to assassinate Hitler.  When the prisoner refuses to comply, Quive-Smith arranges for him to have a fatal accident.  Thorndike survives and is able to make his way back to England, not knowing that he is being tailed by Nazi agents.  With the help of a good-hearted young London girl, Jerry Stokes, Thorndike manages to reach his brother Lord Risborough, an important British diplomat, who advises him to go into hiding to avoid being extradited to Germany for a mock trial.  Unfortunately, Quive-Smith is a far more ruthless and cunning opponent than either man imagines...