Man Hunt (1941)
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90% of critics liked it
(10 reviews) -
75% of users liked it
(447 ratings)
A hunter finds himself in a world of danger when he decides to stalk Adolf Hitler in this taut WWII thriller. Capt. Thorndike (Walter Pidgeon) is an expert big-game hunter from England. While hunting in Bavaria, he happens upon Hitler's Berchtesgaden estate and spots the Fuhrer; he has his rifle… More A hunter finds himself in a world of danger when he decides to stalk Adolf Hitler in this taut WWII thriller. Capt. Thorndike (Walter Pidgeon) is an expert big-game hunter from England. While hunting in Bavaria, he happens upon Hitler's Berchtesgaden estate and spots the Fuhrer; he has his rifle in tow, and he toys with the idea of firing at the dictator, even raising the unloaded weapon, putting Hitler in the crosshairs, and pulling the trigger to make the gun click. Unfortunately, this draws the attention of Maj. Quive-Smith (George Sanders), a Gestapo leader assigned to guard the Führer, who promptly apprehends Thorndike, drags him off and attempts to force him to sign a confession. When he refuses, he's brutally beaten and dumped into a hole in the woods, and must climb out and make his way to safety, by hiding as a stowaway on a Danish steamer. The poor fellow then runs afoul of the menacing Mr. Jones (John Carradine), who steals his passport and identity. By the time Thorndike returns to London, the hunter has become the hunted, with Gestapo agents combing the streets looking for the would-be assassin. Man Hunt was directed by Fritz Lang, the great German director who fled to Paris in 1933 rather than accept a commission from Joseph Goebbels to make Nazi propaganda films. He came to America the following year. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Fritz Lang
- Written By
- Geoffrey Household, Dudley Nichols
- Genres
- Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1941 Wide
- Studio
- Twentieth Century Fox
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
This farfetched thriller offers some well-crafted noir-like breathtaking chase sequences that are tense and absorbing.
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John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
In 'Man Hunt,' tracking shots are literally tracking shots: When Lang's camera glides, it's in pursuit of a quarry, as if it were participating in what the movie's hero refers to as 'a sporting stalk.'
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Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
it seems to lose sight of the daring adventure aspect and swerves into a fluffy romance
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Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Lang's vision of the "unconscious assassins" unleashed for war
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Fritz Lang's WWII spy drama about a British hunter who stalks Hitler is sharply written by ace scribe Dudley Nichols and well acted by Walter Pidgeon in the lead and George Sanders in the supporting role of the Nazi chief who pursues him.
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Cast
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Walter Pidgeon
as Capt. Thorndike
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Joan Bennett
as Jerry
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George Sanders
as Maj. Quive-Smith
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John Carradine
as Mr. Jones
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Roddy McDowall
as Vaner The Cabin Boy
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Ludwig Stossel
as Doctor
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Heather Thatcher
as Lady Risborough
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Frederic Worlock
as Lord Risborough
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Roger Imhof
as Capt. Jensen
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Egon Brecher
as Whiskers
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Lester Matthews
as Major
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Holmes Herbert
as Farnsworthy
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Eily Malyon
as Postmistress
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Arno Frey
as Police Lieutenant
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Fredrik Vogeding
as Ambassador
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Lucien Prival
as Umbrella Man
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Herbert Evans
as Reeves
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Keith Hitchcock
as London Bobby
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Sven Hugo Borg
as 1st Mate
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Cyril Delevanti
as Cab Driver
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Carl Ekberg
as Adolf Hitler
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Richard Fraser
as Navigator
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Douglas Gerrard
as Policeman
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William Haade
as Sentries
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Olaf Hytten
as Secretary
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Hans Joby
as Tracker
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Kurt Kreuger
as German Attache
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Bruce Lister
as Co-Pilot
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Virginia McDowall
as Postmistress' Daughter
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Adolph Milar
as Pigeon Man
- Otto Reichow
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John Rogers
as Cockney
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Clifford Severn
as Cockney Boy
- Bob Stephenson
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William Von Brincken
as Chief of Harbor Police
- Frank Benson
- Walter Bonn
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Bobby Hale
as Costermonger
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Edgar Licho
as Little Fat Man
- Charles Bennett
- Frederick Worlock