Hangmen Also Die! (1943) ( Never Surrender (Lest We Forget) )

Hangmen Also Die! (1943) (Blu-Ray) (*)

$20.99

Alternate Title: Never Surrender (Lest We Forget)
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Oscar Academy Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Portuguese ( Subtitles )
Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Spain ( Blu-Ray/Region A/B/C )

Running Time:
105 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1943 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Fritz Lang

Written By:
Bertolt Brecht
Fritz Lang

Actors:
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski ..... Reinhard Heydrich
Brian Donlevy ..... Dr. Franticek Svoboda / Karel Vanek
Walter Brennan ..... Prof. Stephen Novotny
Anna Lee ..... Nasha Novotny
Nana Bryant ..... Mrs. Hellie Novotny
William Roy ..... Boda Novot
Margaret Wycherly ..... Ludmilla Novotny
Dennis O'Keefe ..... Jan Horak (Nasha's fiancé)
Gene Lockhart ..... Emil Czaka (brewer)
Tonio Selwart ..... Chief of Gestapo Kurt Haas
Alexander Granach ..... Gestapo Insp. Alois Gruber
Reinhold Schünzel ..... Gestapo Insp. Ritter
Ludwig Donath ..... Schirm
Arno Frey ..... Camp lieutenant Itnut
Sarah Padden ..... Mrs. Georgia Dvorak (grocer)

Synopsis:

On 27 May 1942, in Prague, the Deputy Reich-Protector of Bohemia and Moravia 'Hangman' Reinhard Heydrich is shot by the resistance member Dr. Franticek Svoboda. After the attempt on Heydrich's life, Nasha Novotny when questioned by the Gestapo, gives them wrong information as to which direction Svoboda took off in. When Svoboda sees that he is trapped, he goes to Nasha's apartment seeking shelter and he introduces himself as the architect Karel Vanek. He is welcomed by the patriarch and former revolutionary Professor Stephen Novotny and spends the night with the family. The next morning, the Gestapo captures hostages including Professor Novotny to force the population to denounce the assassin. Nasha goes to St. Pancracio Hospital to find the resident surgeon Dr. Franticek Svoboda and ask him to surrender to the German authorities to protect the hostages. She soon learns that she is going to have to take matters in to her own hands.

On May 27, 1942 the Nazi Reichsprotector of Bohemia/Moravia, the 'Hangman' Reinhard Heydrich, died from the bullets of unidentified resistance fighters. Hangmen Also Die is the story of Heydrich's assassination in fictionalized form. It was Bertolt Brecht's only comparitively successful Hollywood project; the money he received allowed him to write 'The Visions of Simone Marchand', 'Schwyk in the Second World War' and his adaptation of Webster's 'The Duchess of Malfi'. Hanns Eisler won an Academy Award for his musical score.

An apocryphal version of the assassination of the Nazi leader and Czech 'protector' Reinhard Heydrich by a resistance fighter in World War II. The story follows the assassin as he evades the widening Nazi dragnet, protected by his fellow Czechs even to the point of self-sacrifice. As the Czech people are put to the sword in increasing numbers in retaliation for the assassination and their refusal to give up the killer, a plan evolves to provide the Nazis with an 'assassin' who is actually a Czech traitor.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 27 June, 2024.