Dr. Franticek Svoboda
Brian Donlevy
Dr. Franticek Svoboda

“The shot heard 'round the world!”
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.
Hangmen Also Die 1943 Trailer HD | Fritz Lang | Brian Donlevy
Dr. Franticek Svoboda
Brian Donlevy
Dr. Franticek Svoboda
Prof. Stephen Novotny
Walter Brennan
Prof. Stephen Novotny
Masha Novotny
Anna Lee
Masha Novotny
Emil Czaka
Gene Lockhart
Emil Czaka
Jan Horak
Dennis O'Keefe
Jan Horak
Ludmilla Novotny
Margaret Wycherly
Ludmilla Novotny
Mrs. Hellie Novotny
Nana Bryant
Mrs. Hellie Novotny
Boda Novotny
William Roy
Boda Novotny
Reinhard Heydrich
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski
Reinhard Heydrich
Gestapo Insp. Alois Gruber
Alexander Granach
Gestapo Insp. Alois Gruber
Chief of Gestapo Kurt Haas
Tonio Selwart
Chief of Gestapo Kurt Haas
Dedic
Jonathan Hale
Dedic
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.
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