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.

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]

For a long time, I've always upheld the notion that there's only two kinds of people who like going to work: Willy Wonka and rapists. However, with Fritz Lang's "Man Hunt," I'm reminded that there's a third: the Nazi--or, at least, the film variety--who conduct their nefarious business with such smarm and ardor, that one can only expect them to skip to work in the morning, whistling "I've Got a Golden Ticket.""Man Hunt" stars Walter Pidgeon as Alan Thorndike, an expert hunter- -that makes two of us. He's introduced to the audience in the act of hunting the most dangerous of the dangerous game: Adolf Hitler. In fact, he has Hitler in his cross-hairs, pulls the trigger, but the gun isn't loaded. He nonchalantly puts in a single bullet, rests his finger on the trigger, but is disrupted by a Nazi soldier on watch. He's captured, but eventually escapes, and thus begins the hunt.There's a reason black and white has survived long past its due date. It creates a dreamy, stark atmosphere--especially when combined with London fog--and can aesthetically reflect the tone and themes of the film itself, as it does here. There is one particular scene, where Thorndike and Jerry Stokes (Joan Bennett)--a woman he's fallen in love with--must part ways; they kiss, Stokes pretends to be a hooker, in order to distract a cop away from Thorndike's face, and the two steadily go in opposite directions, until Stokes fades away into the fog. It's a beautifully sad moment.As Fritz Lang, the director, emerges from the silent era--where he was already well known--"Man Hunt" is extremely visual, and home to more than its fair share of memorable frames. Other than the parting of the two lovers, there's a torture sequence, where the only character on frame is the Nazi officer (George Sanders), and everyone else is represented by their shadows; therefore, the often changing light in the room reveals characters' shadows as they become important. It's very cool, for lack of a more professional word. Pidgeon is fantastic as Thorndike--determined at times, and at others, carefree and charming. But above the rest, Bennett sticks out as Stokes, who could have been just another empty love interest meant to broaden the appeal of a dark thriller, but is instead a character worthy of her own film. Her cockney, working-class manner and her simple needs act as a breather to the tense, dense series of events surrounding her; but more than that--from a story point of view--she gives the hero something to lose."Man Hunt" lives up to its name. In an era of "thrillers" where Liam Neeson waddles--I mean runs--from cliché to cliché, without any intellectually compelling reason, "Man Hunt" is a breath of fresh air, offering thrills and chills, but great dialogue, characters and visuals as well. However, living in a post-"Raiders of the Lost Ark" world, if I don't see a Nazi's face melt off, I'm slightly let down. Maybe next time.

Pretty awful! A famous director (Fritz Lang), talented actors (Walter Pidgeon, George Sanders, John Carradine, Joan Bennett; and an instantly-recognizable, though very young, Roddy McDowell), an excellent composer (Alfred Newman) --- all wasted in an idiotic, third-rate thriller. Nothing makes sense whatsoever. The plot is beyond incredulous. Even if you are willing to tolerate a Hitchcockian MacGuffin (a not so-important story element that drives the plot) --- this one (a document that Pidgeon refuses to sign) is laughable. And if you pause to think about what is going on for even one minute, it all falls apart. All the characters without exception are one-dimensional, the dialog is part sappy, part pompous, and embarrassingly moralistic. Even allowing for the fact that this movie was done by a German expatriate in the middle of the war (just before the US joined the war) --- the result is very difficult to sit through today.