HITLER'S MADMEN: Classiest PRC? in Poverty Row Forum

0 Points

Forum Jump

HITLER'S MADMEN: Classiest PRC?

Author	Comment
Friend of Daniel	HITLER'S MADMEN: Classiest PRC?	Lead	[-]
Nov 15 10 10:35 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	OK - this is not technically a horror film, but it does have John Carradine, Ralph Morgan, and Elizabeth Russell. I have this saved unwatched on my DVR and did a little reading up on the film. I was surprised to find that although this was eventually released by MGM, it was made by good ol' PRC. I'm now really looking forward to seeing this. Any thoughts on this little PRC Nazi film gone big studio? I don't think I've ever heard of another example of a 40's poverty row film being bought and released by one of the majors.
	Remove this ad
TomWeaver999		#1	[-]
Nov 15 10 11:45 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It was actually an indie -- Angelus Productions, who later made the classy Chekhov-based SUMMER STORM with Linda Darnell and George Sanders -- and earmarked for release by PRC, so it kinda-sorta wasn't really a Poverty Row movie. (And MGM shot new scenes and polished it up for release.) So specifically (I know I'm being pedantic here) it was a movie intended for release by a Poverty Row company, that ended up being released by a major company instead. And rather a good movie, IMHO -- better than SUMMER STORM, certainly! Carradine is very good, especially in his deathbed scene.
Friend of Daniel		#2	[-]
Nov 15 10 12:06 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks, Tom! I was wondering just how MGM managed to pass off 65 minutes of Carradine skulking around PRC's familiar sets plotting to transplant the brain of Morgan to an acromegalic gorilla while Russell screams as one of their polished gems. This sounds like a fascinating film - and it was directed by Douglas Sirk. I'm looking forward to watching it.
doctor kiss		#3	[-]
Nov 15 10 5:08 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I agree with Tom that this is a pretty entertaining and well-acted movie (certainly as far as Carradine's sneering Heydrich is concerned). Possibly it seems even better/fresher watching it today than when first released, when it had already been preceded by a slew of other low-budget anti-Nazi movies, as a couple of critics complained at the time. The publicity department put out some slightly bizarre posed stills for the film, such as the one of Carradine looming menacingly in silhouette below. The bit-part actress to the far left is an uncredited Ava Gardner.
Maldor		#4	[-]
Nov 15 10 9:56 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Carridine is very nasty in this movie one of his best performancrs in my opinion. Supernatural perhaps bologna perhaps not. Bela Lugosi the Black Cat
Friend of Daniel		#5	[-]
Nov 18 10 6:43 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	What a powerful, devastating film! The poem Lidice by Edna St. Vincent Millay is used to great effect, especially for the ending. Carradine is magnificent, especially when you consider he was making VOODOO MAN soon afterwards. The fine score by PRC regular composer Karl Hajos (utilizing Smetana's *Die Moldau) reveals its PRC origins, if you look closely enough. On a personal note I'm glad I knew this wasn't technically* a PCR film film before going into it or I think my head would have exploded trying to fit it into the usual PRC mold!
Rick		#6	[-]
Nov 18 10 6:51 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Might make an interesting co-feature to Fritz Lang's HANGMEN ALSO DIE (also 1943), which also deals with the death of the real monster, Heydrich. Dwight Frye has a bit in the Lang film.
Elisabeth		#7	[-]
Dec 1 10 10:48 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I really enjoy this film, and wish it were available for sale..even as a grey market. John Carradine was superb as Heydrich, and Ralph Morgan was equally fine. I also enjoy Patricia Morison in ANYTHING...same with Elisabeth Russell and Blanche Yurka. The quality of the acting really makes this little film a lost gem. "E" Your Signature ... "....I do hope he won't upset Henry..."
Mora		#8	[-]
Dec 2 10 12:04 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Is it just me or does that profile silhouettte look more Rathbone than Carradine? I agree. A great film with a terrific "hissable" performance from J.C. Interesting point Friend of Daniel makes: Carradine going from playing a vicious Nazi to a bongo-playing geek. Well, it does go to show Carradine's versatility.
JoeDoakes		#9	[-]
Dec 20 10 3:57 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Mora wrote: Is it just me or does that profile silhouettte look more Rathbone than Carradine? You may be on to something there. It looks like Rathbone, and Rathbone was under contract to MGM the year this picture was released. I have never seen this film. Does Carradine wear a mustache in it?
Friend of Daniel		#10	[-]
Dec 20 10 6:59 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	No mustache, but it looks like Carradine might be sporting a fake nose in this film. This would account for the more Rathbonesque profile. in fact, in the upper photo he looks a bit like Rathbone to me. Non-Nazi Carradine:
	Remove this ad
Elisabeth		#11	[-]
Dec 21 10 2:37 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I must admit that he DID look disgustingly like Heydrich, and scared the stew out of me. "E" Your Signature ... "....I do hope he won't upset Henry..."
sillyhuron		#12	[-]
Aug 28 12 8:59 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Did anyone catch this on TCM this morning? (Aug. 28. 6AM?) Part of the Ava Gardner festival! Presumably they needed an excuse to show this since she's not even credited. Last Edited By: sillyhuron Aug 28 12 9:07 AM. Edited 2 times.
rvoyttbots		#13	[-]
Aug 28 12 12:42 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	sillyhuron wrote: Did anyone catch this on TCM this morning? (Aug. 28. 6AM?) Part of the Ava Gardner festival! Presumably they needed an excuse to show this since she's not even credited. TCM doesn`t just show starring role films during their August Under the Stars schedule. For Claude Rains earlier this month, they showed KINGS ROW and he is barely in the film.
horrorfilmx		#14	[-]
Aug 29 12 9:51 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	rvoyttbots wrote: sillyhuron wrote: Did anyone catch this on TCM this morning? (Aug. 28. 6AM?) Part of the Ava Gardner festival! Presumably they needed an excuse to show this since she's not even credited. TCM doesn`t just show starring role films during their August Under the Stars schedule. For Claude Rains earlier this month, they showed KINGS ROW and he is barely in the film. Whoa, come on --- he's the guy who chopped off Reagan's legs and gave him the title of his autobiography! Sorry I missed Hitler's Madman. I'm going to have to pay closer attention to the TCM schedule. Last Edited By: horrorfilmx Aug 29 12 9:53 AM. Edited 1 times.
rvoyttbots		#15	[-]
Aug 29 12 11:11 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	horrorfilmx wrote: rvoyttbots wrote: sillyhuron wrote: Did anyone catch this on TCM this morning? (Aug. 28. 6AM?) Part of the Ava Gardner festival! Presumably they needed an excuse to show this since she's not even credited. TCM doesn`t just show starring role films during their August Under the Stars schedule. For Claude Rains earlier this month, they showed KINGS ROW and he is barely in the film. Cheery film, what? Whoa, come on --- he's the guy who chopped off Reagan's legs and gave him the title of his autobiography! Sorry I missed Hitler's Madman. I'm going to have to pay closer attention to the TCM schedule. Charles Coburn was the doctor who cut off the legs. Rains killed his daughter, the first love of Robert Cummings , and then killed himself. Last Edited By: rvoyttbots Aug 29 12 11:16 AM. Edited 3 times.
horrorfilmx		#16	[-]
Aug 29 12 11:30 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	rvoyttbots wrote: horrorfilmx wrote: rvoyttbots wrote: sillyhuron wrote: Did anyone catch this on TCM this morning? (Aug. 28. 6AM?) Part of the Ava Gardner festival! Presumably they needed an excuse to show this since she's not even credited. TCM doesn`t just show starring role films during their August Under the Stars schedule. For Claude Rains earlier this month, they showed KINGS ROW and he is barely in the film. Cheery film, what? Whoa, come on --- he's the guy who chopped off Reagan's legs and gave him the title of his autobiography! Sorry I missed Hitler's Madman. I'm going to have to pay closer attention to the TCM schedule. Charles Coburn was the doctor who cut off the legs. Rains killed his daughter, the first love of Robert Cummings , and then killed himself. Dammit, you're right --- I always get them confused. Well, it shoulda been Rains!
rvoyttbots		#17	[-]
Aug 29 12 1:44 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I found KINGS ROW to be a total waste of time. Soap opera mush.
sillyhuron		#18	[-]
Aug 29 12 2:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I dunno. Mutilation, psycho-incesto murder - sounds like a horror movie!
Omega Man		#19	[-]
Aug 29 12 9:46 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	DVR'd and watched this. Yeah, I know it's just wartime propaganda, but virtually everything in the movie is total B.S. compared to what actually happened. As any kind of 'history', the film is garbage. None of the real events occurred as depicted. It is so removed from reality, in fact, that the film should nowadays have to carry a disclaimer that it bares no relation to the actual tragedy of Lidice. Carradine, false nose and all, is great in it, although the real Heydrich (evil monster that he was) did not comport himself like that whatsoever. The fat guy playing Himmler is simply TERRIBLE. (The real Himmler wasn't fat, nor did he smoke.) "Dammit, it's jammed!" www.eccentric-cinema.com
HalLane		#20	[-]
Aug 31 12 1:09 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Been reading about this flick in Don Miller's B MOVIES book ~~ never saw it, sounds kinda interesting. Those Carradine stills with the nose look very Gustav Von Seyffertitz-y.
	Remove this ad

<< Previous Topic Next Topic >>

Add Reply

Yuku free message boards

HITLER'S MADMEN: Classiest PRC?

HITLER'S MADMEN: Classiest PRC?