Hitler-Dead Or Alive

2054. HITLER-DEAD OR ALIVE (1942-usa). WITH ward bond, Dorothy tree, warren HYMER, PAUL FIX. Character actor Ward Bond has one Of his rare starring roles in this outrageousÂly plotted combination World War II propaganda film/bang-gang actioner. He plays Steve Maschik, “former underworld czar” who has just completed an eleven year stretch in Alcatraz. It seems that the brother Of wealthy inventor Samuel Thornton has been killed by the Gestapo. Thornton is after vengeance and has Offered a $1-million prize for the abduction Of Adolph Hitler. Maschik wishes to take Thornton up on his Offer and earn what he thinks will be easy money. “Ah, the guy’s nothin’ but a mobster,” the gangster observes. “He can be had, same as any other big shot.” Maschik and his cronies scheme to bump Off Hitler just as they would a rival rumrunner or vice lord. They begin by joining the Royal Canadian Air Force and soon are hijacking an airplane and parachuting into Germany to accomplish their task. This is a fine example Of World War II Hollywood propaganda as it stresses the need for all Nazis to be obliterated Off the face Of the earth. As they act on their plan, the film becomes an action-packed shoot-em-up with the traditional bad guys taking on heroÂic personas as they clash with the Nazi swine. Maschik in particular is transformed from killer-for- hire to patriotic American as he sees how the Nazis are capable Of murdering innocent women and children. The scenario also takes on an eerie reality as the gangsters and the flyer who is forced to accompany them on the mission find themselves prisoners at the infamous Dachau concentration camp. The film was Of course made before Dachau came to be known to the world as a death camp where thousands were mercilessly slaughtered. Caution: the video quality is marginal. 71 minutes. Adventure