Man Hunt (1941)

This 1941 movie is a recent DVD release from Fox Studios and has been seldom seen by today's audiences.

The story is based on a series of articles in Atlantic Monthly magazine by Geoffrey Householder and later compiled in a book entitled Rogue Male.  I had watched a 1976 version of this story starring Peter O'Toole and was very impressed, therefore eager to see the original when I found it.

This movie is entitled Man Hunt as it was released in 1941 at the time when events were brewing to their conclusion in Europe.  The USA had not officially entered the war so to avoid violating the Neutrality Act movies and other media were careful not to identify enemies or advocate war.  

The original director sought for Man Hunt was John Ford but he had his hands full with The Grapes of Wrath and opted out.  Fox studio head Darryl F Zanuck looked for another director and settled on Fritz Lang who had come to America from Germany in 1934 - this after he was offered the job of Führer of the German Film Industry by no less than Nazi Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels.

Lang was considered a film genius in Europe as one of the original Expressionists (along with John Ford), but was little known this side of the Atlantic and had to prove himself to the studios.  There is a full length commentary on this film and a featurette that runs about half an hour where film scholars discuss this film and Fritz Lang's place in film history, so it makes a good movie to watch for those reasons as well as the movie itself is better than average.

The story concerns an aristocratic English playboy hunter (Walter Pidgeon) who stalks Hitler in Germany and takes a shot at him however his aim is disturbed and he is captured, beaten, and left for dead.  He escapes but is followed ever after by a team of Nazi agents under command of George Sanders, who lives up to his reputation as one of the sleaziest villains in pictures. 

Upon reaching England by ship Pidgeon takes up with a Cockney prostit ... -- seamstress -- played by Lang favorite Joan Bennett who helps him but also is victimized by the Nazis who kill her when she refused to give information about Pidgeon.  Lang was clever in that he did want to show her as a prostitute but the Production Code wanted uplifting material so Lang put a sewing machine in her room but even though she acted and talked like a streetwalker the code was magically satisfied. Lang had a good sense of humor and often poked fun as did fellow director Alfred Hitchcock who also liked to hoodwink the blue noses who wanted to dictate public morals.

Once Pidgeon is forced to go into hiding the movie plays out more formulaically than the introduction would have led you to believe.  He actually constructs a den like an animal's lair in the ground and is pursued by Sanders and his minions where a final confrontation takes place.  The movie further tacks on a scene showing Pidgeon going back into Germany by parachute in hopes of assassinating Hitler. Pretty far fetched, not to mention his "high powered sporting rifle" is this time a .351 Winchester self loader that was very underpowered, even for deer.

The Fox DVD is presented in good shape in B&W full screen, having been restored and with a couple of significant extra features - a full length commentary by Patrick MacGilligan and a making of featurette with several film gurus discussing the movie and Lang's techniques as well as trailer, language choices, and subtitles.

Rogue Male - the 1976 version starring Peter O'Toole

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV