Review of Hangmen Also Die! (1943) by David S — 23 Jun 2009
Interesting but overlong bit of propaganda from director Fritz Lang and co-writer Bertolt Brecht, about the events following the 1942 assassination by the Czech underground of Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi Reich Protector of German-occupied Prague.
The film starts out well enough and is beautifully shot by the great James Wong Howe, but the rather buffoonish villains (only Lang would have a senior member of the Gestapo squeezing a giant pimple in a mirror while he interrogates a suspect), a plot that doesn't really get going until late and a bloated running time of 134 minutes causes the film to drag.
The last act however is vintage Lang, complete with ratcheted-up suspense thanks to the cross-cutting between three different locations of action - a style somewhat reminiscent of his earlier film (and much more effective indictment of fascism) The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.
The final shot though is a bit too silly, but it was 1943 and morale had to be kept up, so I'll let it slide.
This review of Hangmen Also Die! (1943) was written by David S on 23 Jun 2009.
Hangmen Also Die! has generally received positive reviews.
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