Hangmen Also Die!

"The shot heard 'round the world!"

1943 2h 14m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 144

DramaThrillerWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, surgeon Dr. Franticek Svoboda, a Czech patriot, assassinates the brutal "Hangman of Europe", Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich, and is wounded in the process. In his attempt to escape, he is helped by history professor Stephen Novotny and his daughter Mascha.

“The shot heard 'round the world!”

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Cast

Brian Donlevy
Dr. Franticek Svoboda
Walter Brennan
Prof. Stephen Novotny
Anna Lee
Masha Novotny
Gene Lockhart
Emil Czaka
Dennis O'Keefe
Jan Horak
Margaret Wycherly
Ludmilla Novotny
Nana Bryant
Mrs. Hellie Novotny
William Roy
Boda Novotny

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Fritz Lang
Writers: Bertolt Brecht, Fritz Lang, John Wexley
Languages: English, German
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

83 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

AWARDS

Did you know

Directed by Fritz Lang, shot by James Wong Howe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Gene Fowler Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Brian Donlevy and Walter Brennan and Anna Lee carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The shot heard 'round the world!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0035966 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Fritz Lang directs. James Wong Howe behind the camera. Gene Fowler Jr. cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.
3Directed by Fritz Lang, shot by James Wong Howe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Gene Fowler Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Brian Donlevy and Walter Brennan and Anna Lee carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The shot heard 'round the world!".
7IMDB entry: tt0035966 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 13 themes, including "assassination", "nazi", "hostage", "resistance".
9Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: James Wong Howe
Editing: Gene Fowler Jr.
Costume design: Eleanor Behm
Makeup / hair: Robert Stephanoff
Runtime: 134 min · 2h 14m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Hangmen Also Die! (1943)

Also by

Fritz Lang

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-26
★ 7/10
Fritz Lang has assembled a really solid cast for this depiction of the Nazi terror inflicted on the Czech people after they decided to rid themselves of their German overlord Reinhard Heydrich. That historical event happens pretty early on, allowing us to focus on just how brutal the regime was, and on just how courageous those left were by continuing to oppose their oppressors despite some fairly arbitrary methods of retribution. The assassin must find shelter, evade detection and learn whom to trust as he watches those around him suffer - regardless of any guilt. Probably my favourite performance comes via the collaborating "Czaka" (Gene Lockhart) who plays the local beer magnate-cum-stooge really quite well. Walter Brennan is likewise effective as the elderly historian professor "Novotny" as is Alexander Granach as the Gestapo man charged with finding the original culprit. It is a little heavy on the dialogue side at times, but the director takes his time to imbue a real sense of the horror faced by the population as lawful lawlessness gradually robbed them of even the most basic of civil liberties, and the darkly lit photography is particularly evocative too. It's been retold once or twice, but to nowhere near the same standard and though largely a work of fiction, is still potent stuff.

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