Opinions on this Fritz Lang Pre-War Film Vary a great deal. Robert Osborne, a Host on TCM and Film Historian, called it Lang's Best American Film. Wow. That is Highly Debatable, but makes the point.The Movie has many Lang Touches with some Outstanding Scenes, but the Overall Tone of the Movie is Inconsistent. The Chase Sequences and Suspense Pieces are almost Overwhelmed by the Goofy Upper Class-Street Girl Patronizing and Giddiness.Joan Bennett's Panting and Crying really Grates the Nerves and Stops the Movie's Momentum a number of times. Walter Pidgeon is Miscast but Manages what He can. George Sanders and John Carradine as Nazis are also Inconsistent, Especially Sanders.The Highlights of the Movie all come from Lang's use of Trademark Expressionism but are Ultimately Undone by Fish and Chips and Bennet's constant Begging for Thorndike's Attention. Overall, there are Enough Lang Flourishes and the Story is certainly One for the Times and Tapped into a Fantasy that Continued even After the War was Over. You know, that Hypothetical, "If You could go back in time and assassinate Hitler", etc.Not the Best American Film from Fritz Lang but a Good Entertainment with the Subject Matter, especially in the Time Frame when it was Made (Pre-War), adds to the Appeal.

Man Hunt (1941)Offhand the title and idea to this movie sounds a bit routine--a man singlehandedly avoiding authorities and pursuers. Even the extra theme that the Nazis are the bad guys sounded well worn, though the fact it was shot and released during that interesting two year period of WWII before the Americans got involved is something of a hook.But I watched mainly because the formerly German director, Fritz Lang, is one of the handful of best directors ever.And it pays off. The clichés are made fresh--even the Nazi types are different than you'd expect. The filming is great, showing the use of shadows and ominous points of view that film noir would take up in the next couple of years. And the plot has a mixture of one man against the world survival as well as boy meets girl romance. It's terrific stuff, hardly dated at all. And the cinematography is by one of the stalwarts of the period, Arthur Miller, so it has lots of moving camera and interesting tight compositions.The main character Alan Thorndike is played by Walter Pidgeon, one of those leading males who hasn't always stood up well over time. The deep voice, nice guy quality he is famous for isn't always matched by a pertinent acting intensity. His physical presence in a film is often a shade unconvincing. Lang might have found a perfect balance here because Thorndike's situation is so harsh, at least at times, and there is often a contrasting focus on Pidgeon's face and the innocence it is so good at projecting.Oddly (and maybe with some political savvy, who knows), Pidgeon is a Canadian playing a Brit, with no attempt at an accent, so this supposedly patriotic movie has a weird falseness in every scene. The reason this might be on purpose is it's carried through all along--the leading woman, Joan Bennet, is a New Jersey girl who has adopted a strong Irish (I think, or Cockney) accent. And the main Nazi is played by upper crust British legend George Sanders (who was born in Russia). And so goes this international plot. Of course, Lang was an expatriate German Jew working for Hollywood. He was becoming known for his anti-Nazi fervor to the dismay of the right wing Hays Code commission, which we now understand better. Lang's penchant for shooting at night (which goes back to his days in the German film industry) and his ability to make people sinister without actually showing them doing sinister things is partly why this simple movie works. It's also made complicated by the large range of locations used (or invented in the studio), and by the irony of the sweet love affair in the wings in the second half.You might say it's a propaganda film if you want to use that word loosely. It does at the very end send a message to the viewers, and to Hitler, that the British are out to get him. But really this is a movie about good against evil, about free thinking versus doing what you're told. And about love, completely unfulfilled, but so incipient you feel it and want it.Yes, see this, if you like movies from the period, or know you like Lang's films. Or if you like film noir, since this is a pre-cursor. Or see it if you appreciate a very well made film with an edgy historical setting.

The movie had all the elements which could have made it one of the greatest thriller of all time. Daring assassination attempt which could lead a continent into a war, thrilling escapades, cunning secret service agents following the trails of the wanted. Lang with his natural brilliance in this genre captivates the audience from the very first scene itself. However, unfortunately the taut suspense that the movie builds slacks through the introduction of the romantic angle in the movie. The romantic interludes slows the pace and acts as a dampener. If the screenplay could have pared these excesses of romantic interludes or could have integrated the same in a better way with the main narration of the film, this film could have become, as I said in the beginning, one of the greatest thrillers of all time.

Man Hunt (1941) *** (out of 4) Entertaining but severely flawed thriller about big-game hunter Alan Thorndike (Walter Pidgeon) who crosses over to Germany and hunts down Hitler. He has the evil man in his rifle range but when he pulls the trigger it's a blank. He's eventually captured and beaten but he swears that he had no intent on actually killing the man. He manages to escape but Major Quive Smith (George Sanders) is soon on his trail as is a hired killer (John Carradine). It's important to remember that at the time of this film's release American had yet to join WW2 so there's a lot of talk here, which is clearly meant to build up spirits for when our country did join. The ending is certainly preaching but this isn't the downside of the film. The real downside happens when Thorndike meets a young woman (Joan Bennett) who insists on following him on his journey. Up until this point the film has some nice tension building up and after her character is out of the way we get back to that tension but I must say that this added romance was downright bad and really kept this film from being much better. The biggest problem I had is that I could never make heads or tails of why it was included in the first place. There's really no "love" story being told and there's really no point in having her along for the ride as it appears the main reason she's here is for comedy relief and there aren't any laughs. Her character is so annoying that you can't help but wish she'd just go away and why she was given such a big part in the story is beyond me. Outside of that we're left with a pretty good thriller with some excellent performances and tight direction. Pidgeon is perfect as the hero who refuses to sell out his country to save his own life. I thought the character went through quite a few changes in the film and the actor perfectly handled the material. Sanders easily steals the film as the evil SOB tracking him down and you can't help but feel as if you're hearing someone who really was behind the evil wishes of Hitler. Sanders is so cold and stern in the part that you can't help but love to hate him. Carradine offers up his typical fine performance and we get Roddy McDowall, Frederick Worlock and Roger Imhof in nice supporting bits. Bennett didn't work for me but this had more to do with the screenplay and not her performance. The final moments take place inside a cave and makes for some wonderful tension but I won't ruin what happens. MAN HUNT is certainly worth watching due to the cast and Lang's direction but I can't help but feel a little disappointed that it's not better. Had the film stayed focused on the tension and left the romance somewhere else then we'd have had a much better film.