Hangmen Also Die (1943)

Set in Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, a resistance fighter (Brian Donlevy) assassinates a German deputy and Reich Protector (Hans Heinrich Von Twardowski) known as "the hangman". In revenge, the Gestapo rounds up innocent citizens and holds them hostage and threatens to execute them unless the assassin is turned in. From a story co-written by Bertolt Brecht (he wasn't credited with the script although the evidence suggests the screenplay is mainly his) which was his only Hollywood writing job and directed by Fritz Lang (METROPOLIS). Lang did several anti-Nazi propaganda films in the 1940s including MAN HUNT and MINISTRY OF FEAR. This one is very well done although it veers toward being heavy handed and preachy. What saves it are the noir-ish thriller elements that would later serve Lang in good stead in films like SCARLET STREET and THE BIG HEAT. The movie is loosely based on the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. The acting is uneven and suffers from American actors playing Czechs including Walter Brennan in an atypical role as a Czech professor. All things considered, he's actually very good. Hanns Eisler's score received an Oscar nomination. With Anna Lee, Dennis O'Keefe, Margaret Wycherly, Gene Lockhart and Alexander Granach.