Richard Chatten This isn't really very good, but is nevertheless a historically fascinating film that needs to be seen to be believed; if only for the incredible ending, which is no more far-fetched than that dreamed up by Quentin Tarantino for 'Inglorious Basterds'. The previous year Geoffrey Household's pre-war novel about stalking Hitler, 'Rogue Male', had already been filmed by Fritz Lang as 'Man Hunt', and I had settled down to this expecting another piece of crass hokum like 'Desperate Journey' with Errol Flynn, which had recently treated killing Nazis as a bit of a lark. At first it seems as if we're in for more of the same, but the tone darkens considerably as the film progresses, with obvious references to the massacre of civilians at Lidice the previous spring. Despite being warned that in Germany they speak German, this proves not to be the case; and absurd inaccuracies like the claim that Hitler grew his moustache to cover a scar acquired in a Bavarian brawl in the early 20's (presumably the First World War photographs of Corporal Hitler sporting an enormous Kaiser Wilhelm moustache were less familiar to the American public at the time of the Second World War) nestle side by side with depictions of cozy confinement in Dachau and children going before a firing squad that would seem offensive in a mere 'Z' budget quickie were the serious intentions of the film's makers to bring in under the radar a passionate piece of anti-Nazi propaganda under the guise of a simple minded action movie not increasingly evident. All the actors give of their best, and Ward Bond in particular grows in the lead and when he later disguises himself with a moustache to look older, he bears a remarkable resemblance to how he actually did look in his later years. All in all it compares favourably with 'The Dirty Dozen' and 'Inglorious Basterds' on a fraction of the budget.

MartinHafer Aesthetically speaking, this is not a good film in the least. The plot is stupid, the dialog is beyond just stupid and the film can only be enjoyed as a silly piece of kitsch. However, I liked it because it represents the extreme in how bad an American propaganda film can be. Like "First Yank in Tokyo", any attempt to make a believable story went out the window with this one! The film stars some actors who are usually there for support--Ward Bond, Paul Fix and Warren Hymer. While I liked them as colorful characters in films, without a strong and more competent leading man, the film is a bit doomed at the onset. The three play gangsters who lead a Three Stooges-like covert mission to kill Hitler. And, as for Hitler and his henchmen, they are about as smart as you'd expect from a Stooges' film! It's all very dopey and silly but I could also see someone today watching it precisely because it's so bad--so over the top.This film has nothing going for it other than goofiness. It is so weird and wacky that it makes for a wonderfully strange evening of movie watching--and it's easy to, as the film is in the public domain and can be downloaded for free.

Moe12 Moe12 It was interesting to see that Hitler Dead Or Alive originated a plot device used in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. The device? A renowned glamorous woman artist invited to an event accompanied by potential Hitler assassins ith false credential (posing as subordinate artists). Known of the male assassins spoke English or German ( or Italian) to well either).Tarantino consistently borrows only from the best, and, in some measure at least, Hitler DOA is the one of the best.Hitlor DOA certainly carries a serious World War 2 anti-Nazi message. While Hitler DOA is certainly Grade-Z entertainment, produced on a $10 budget with ghastly dialog and a great cartoon-ish plot, it presents a nice alternate universe twist to World War Two.

astrea This film is what _Desperate Journey_ (Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan) might have been if it had been a B-film. (I know: _Desperate Journey_ isn't that good to start with---that's the problem!) Three ex-gangsters take up a wealthy man's offer of 1 MILLION dollars to anyone who can bring in Hitler--dead or alive. The three join the RCAF(why?) and parachute their way into Germany, bringing along their hapless pilot. I wish I could say that the film builds to a tension-filled climax, but every scene becomes even more (unintentionally) hilarious. The leaden dialogue is more than matched by the mind-bogglingly-dreadful German accents affected by the leading players. ("Vat? Ve haf only until Sursday, hmm?") In one scene, a sneering guard actually checks passes by repeating "So! So! So!" In hindsight, some of the portrayals of wartime Germany are actually touchingly innocent: the small prison holding the three gangsters is identified as "Dachau," a name that did not yet have horror associated with it. Now we know...Like many an earnest wartime film, _Hitler: DoA_ had a sincere message (there is more to the Nazi menace than Adolf Hitler). Yet I have a hard time believing that, even in wartime, its schlocky delivery moved very many Americans to consider the deeper meaning of the war in which they wre engaged (yeah, right!) This one was definitely for the kids, an attempt to re-make the American gangster film with a wartime theme, proving that even American criminals have a basic grasp of decency and heroism, far above that shown by the evil Nazis. Throw in lots of chases and shoot-em-ups, and voila! You have a gangster film magically metamorphosed into patriotic material. If you don't expect too much, you can enjoy this one as an almost-fun bit of camp.