Hitler, Dead or Alive

Customer Reviews:

......OMG...........2007-04-16

This movie [DVD] is simply awful upon awful...I only bought it because Ward Bond was featured; however, at this time in his career it meant work for him and a paycheck to boot...typical B movie which was also referred to as a co-feature that was shown before the feature attraction on the bill...here's how Saturday & Sunday was at the local theater....[1940] kids paid ten cents and got to see a cartoon, Newsreel of the Day, coming attractions, a co-feature and the featured film; in addition, after the main feature was over, a weekly serial of 12 chapters, which starred budding actors trying for studio contracts on their potential talent, etc...was always cheered lustily by a packed house of kids, we loved the serials...all started at 1pm and exit by 4pm...candy bars cost 5 cents, popcorn 10 cents and later [1944] a wafer/cup of frozen ice cream cost ten cents...what will they think of next??...little did we know it was the halycon days of a beautiful America going to the movies then....Semper Fi, SSGT CHRIS SARNO-USMC FMF

"I've never done nothing smalltime in my life.".......2005-02-22

Hitler Dead or Alive (1942)...I really wasn't expecting a whole lot from this film, but it did present an interesting idea buried under a steaming pile composed of shrilly propaganda, shallow patriotism, and a plot more befitting a Three Stooges short. The idea I am referring to is could the assassination of Hitler have changed the course of history? Given that he was such a dominate and outspoken leader, one could speculate that his death could have effectively demoralized his followers and seriously crippled the Nazi war machine, but others would put forth that the void would have been filled by more competent leadership, effectively extending the war much longer than it lasted. Either way, the film only touches upon this briefly, before returning to wallow in its' own slightly charming, naiveté. Directed by Nick Grinde (The Captain's Kid, Jail Break), the film stars Ward Bond (It's a Wonderful Life, The Searchers). Also appearing is Warren Hymer (Destry Rides Again), Paul Fix (To Kill a Mockingbird), Dorothy Tree (Knute Rockne All American), Bruce Edwards (The Black Widow), and Bobby Watson (The Big Clock) as Der Fuhrer...a role he seemed relegated to (he played the same character in at least ten other films) during the last half of his career, until his death in 1965.

Alright...here's the deal...a wealthy American advertises a $1,000,000 reward for Hitler's head (actually the deal stipulates dead OR alive, but that's pretty much meaningless as everyone knows it's easier to deal with a dead captive than a live one). This peaks the interest of recently paroled gangster Steve Maschick (Bond) and his two `associates' in Dutch (Hymer), who's your typical dumb muscle/repellent comedic type, and Joe (Fix), the smart, edjumacated one (he's small, wears glasses, and reads which means he's smart...get it?). After accepting the contract, the gang make their way to Canada, joins the Royal Canadian Air Force, makes their way to Europe, hijacks a plane (along with ace pilot Johnny Stevens, played by Edwards) to Germany, to which they parachute near one of Hitler's bases, steal a beer truck, get caught, thrown in prison, escape, meet up with an underground resistance group, and eventually masquerade as members of a musical quartet, infiltrating a small, official gathering with Der Fuhrer in attendance. Now all they have to do is cap their mark and collect the moolah...oh yeah, there's also the small matter of getting out of Germany with their skins intact, but that's a relatively trivial detail, especially if you bought the rest of this hokum.

If you can turn a blind eye to the unbelievable nature of the plot, you might actually enjoy this odd little film. It would have helped had it been presented as a comedy (that's how it came off to me, but I'm sure it was unintentional on the filmmaker's part), especially when it came to depicting the Nazis as complete, bumbling idiots, who, by the way, sported some of the worst German accents I've ever heard `I haff vays of makings you talk!' (Check out the German eavesdropping on the cell after our plucky group gets captured for a great example of this). One of my favorite parts of the film was when the gang hijacked the plane, directed the pilot fly towards Germany, and, on learning a German fighter plane hot on their heels, Dutch goes to the door with a Tommy gun, proceeds to lean out and shoot the pursuing plane out of the sky (I was unaware those guns had such range, much less the accuracy). For me, the real comedy came in the form of the optimism within the gang with regards to the relative ease to which they believed they could complete their task. Were audiences of the day really so gullible as to buy this? I suppose given the fact the film came out so early with regards to America's entry into the war, there was a great deal of optimistic faith with our ability to deal with the situation, which changed to some degree as the war dragged on...oh yeah, I also really loved how relatively few of the German Soldiers picked up on the gang's American accents, accepting them as Nazis based solely on the fact they were sporting stolen Nazi uniforms and threw up the occasional `Heil' salute...I don't know, maybe the Nazis were depicted as being so moronic because that's what we wanted to believe, along with the fleeting hope that victory would come easy. The performances were entertaining, albeit completely unbelievable. Bond is most well known as a supporting character actor, appearing in a slew of legendary films such as those already mentioned, along with Gone with the Wind, The Maltese Falcon, and Mister Roberts, to name a few more, and carries the film in a rare starring role. His co-stars in Hymer and Fix were certainly no slouches either, all three appearing in some 600 plus films combined. Early on I had forgone any notion of realism and enjoyed the silliness, much like one would watching a Bowery Boys film, but the momentum dropped off severely as the story interjected a lethal dose of propaganda followed by a patriotic sledgehammer to the head illustrated by Dutch's impassioned declaration to the camera following the senseless slaughter of some village locals Pardon the pun, but this just seemed like overkill, presented just in case we weren't aware of how bad the Nazis really were...this tactic wasn't uncommon in films of the time, but few seemed as blatant, in my opinion.

The picture quality on this Alpha DVD is very poor (grainy, washed out, age deterioration) followed up by a poor transfer (a few `pixalation' issues confined to the right side of the screen), but the audio was surprisingly decent. Extras include odd trailers for A Chronicle of Corpses (2000) and Magdalen (1998), along with a visual listing of other Alpha cheapie titles. If you liked this film, check out Cowboy Commandos (1943) for similar fun.

Cookieman108

Ward Bond's war bond movie.......2005-02-18

Three gangsters, recently released from prison, sign a million dollar contract with an eccentric millionaire to travel to Germany and do in Der Furhrer.
HITLER: DEAD OR ALIVE was released in Chicago in November, 1942 and nationally the following spring. Like many, if not most, Hollywood products, it's long on emotional truth and short on facts. It was obviously made very soon after America's entry into World War Two. There's a gung-ho, optimistic attitude to it. There's also an embarrassing underestimation of the work required to defeat Nazi Germany. In the coming years America would grow wary and weary, and it would be reflected in her films, but in the early years the flame of confidence burned bright.
Ward Bond, Warren Hymer and Paul Fix play the three ex-convicts in what were then stereotypical roles - Bond was the sturdy rock of the gang, Hymer the comic relief and Fix the brains. In a series of improbable scenes the boys sign the contract with the millionaire (Oh, we'll get Hitler, all right!), join the Canadian Army, become paratroopers, hijack a plane and parachute deep into German territory. Working on the theory that you don't have to worry about stretching credibility after you've already torn it to shreds, our intrepid trio not only make it into the heart of Germany, get jailed and bust out, they also manage to arrange to confront Hitler in person.
Send a thug to catch a thug, I guess. Remarkably, this fluff is presented with a straight face. There's a curtain-closing message snarled out by the always watchable Ward Bond, which was probably strong enough to have the audience reaching in their wallets for the big bills for the war bonds they must have been selling at whatever theater this one was playing in.
I have a soft spot in my heart - or maybe someplace a little north of that - for old B-movies and war movies made during the war. With that caveat firmly in place, I recommend HITLER: DEAD OR ALIVE.

House of 1000 Women/Hitler Dead Or Alive

Average customer rating:

House of 1000 Women/Hitler Dead Or Alive
Starring: House of 1000 Women , and Hitler Dead Or Alive
Manufacturer: Krb Music
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Dolby Digital Souond
Interactive Menus
Standard Full Frame
This Disc is Compatible with all DVD players Worldwide

ASIN: B000EN1XV8
Release Date: 2006-04-04

Product Description

House of 1,000 Women Three downed British pilots are lucky enough to be hidden from the Nazis by a home for women. A rare cult film favorite that is not to be missed! Includes Star Spangled Salesman Featurette-A collection of television celebrities pitch United States Savings bonds. Including the 3 Stooges, Milton Berle, Tim Conway & More! Hitler Dead or Alive Believe it or not, this bizarre wartime "B"-picture was based on a true story. In the early stages of WWII, a prominent American businessman offered one million dollars to anyone who could nab Adolf Hitler and bring him to justice, dead or alive. This real-life character is herein played by Russell Hicks; accepting his offer, no questions asked, are ex-convicts Ward Bond, Warren Hymer and Paul Fix. Joining the Canadian Air Force, the three heroes-by-default strong-arm their way into Nazi Germany, then gain access to Hitler by posing as musicians. Robert Watson, frequent Hitler impersonator during the war years, co-stars as Der Fuhrer, who turns out to be a craven coward once he's shorn of his postage-stamp mustache (we're not making this up.) The quasi-comic tone of the film turns dead serious at the end, as a wild-eyed Ward Bond makes a long patriotic speech while facing a firing squad (previously shown mowing down little children in their bedclothes!). One of the oddest scenes in the picture finds the three former convicts busting out of the Dachau concentration camp -- and this before the world at large was unaware of the horrors going on behind the walls of this infamous death factory. Includes Keep 'Em Flying Featurette With Abbott & Costello!

Average customer rating:

Hitler Dead or Alive/ Prison Break

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000I055C0

DVD:

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