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Cast verified as complete
Walter Pidgeon | ... |
Captain Alan Thorndike
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Joan Bennett | ... |
Jerry Stokes
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George Sanders | ... |
Major Quive-Smith
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John Carradine | ... |
Mr. Jones
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Roddy McDowall | ... |
Vaner
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Ludwig Stössel | ... |
Doctor
(as Ludwig Stossell)
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Heather Thatcher | ... |
Lady Alice Risborough
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Frederick Worlock | ... |
Lord Gerald Risborough
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Roger Imhof | ... |
Captain Jensen
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Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Charles Bennett | ... |
Costermonger (uncredited)
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Frank Benson | ... |
Cab Driver (uncredited)
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Ted Billings | ... |
Newsboy (uncredited)
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Walter Bonn | ... |
Harbor Policeman (uncredited)
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Sven Hugo Borg | ... |
Ship's First Mate (uncredited)
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Egon Brecher | ... |
Whiskers Pawnbroker (uncredited)
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Cyril Delevanti | ... |
Cab Driver (uncredited)
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Carl Ekberg | ... |
Adolf Hitler (uncredited)
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Herbert Evans | ... |
Reeves (uncredited)
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Richard Fraser | ... |
Navigator (uncredited)
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Arno Frey | ... |
Police Lieutenant (uncredited)
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Douglas Gerrard | ... |
Policeman (uncredited)
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Gibson Gowland | ... |
Man on Underground Reading Paper (uncredited)
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William Haade | ... |
Third Sentry (uncredited)
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Bobbie Hale | ... |
Costermonger (uncredited)
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Holmes Herbert | ... |
Saul Farnsworthy (uncredited)
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Keith Hitchcock | ... |
Bobby (uncredited)
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Adolf Hitler | ... |
Adolf Hitler (uncredited) (archiveFootage)
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Olaf Hytten | ... |
Piel - Saul's Law Clerk (uncredited)
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Hans Joby | ... |
German Tracker (uncredited)
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Kurt Kreuger | ... |
German Attaché (uncredited)
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Bruce Lester | ... |
Co-Pilot (uncredited)
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Adolf E. Licho | ... |
Little Fat Man (uncredited)
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Eily Malyon | ... |
Lyme Regis Postmistress (uncredited)
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Lester Matthews | ... |
Major (uncredited)
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Virginia McDowall | ... |
Mary, the Postmistress's Daughter (uncredited)
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Adolph Milar | ... |
German Pigeon Man (uncredited)
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Carl Ottmar | ... |
Harbor Policeman (uncredited)
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Lucien Prival | ... |
Umbrella Henchman (uncredited)
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Otto Reichow | ... |
First Sentry (uncredited)
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John Rogers | ... |
Cockney-Henchman (uncredited)
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Clifford Severn | ... |
Cockney Boy (uncredited)
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Robert R. Stephenson | ... |
Second Sentry (uncredited)
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Frederik Vogeding | ... |
Ambassador (uncredited)
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Wilhelm von Brincken | ... |
Harbor Police Chief (uncredited)
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Katherine Yorke | ... |
Woman passerby (uncredited)
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Directed by
Fritz Lang |
Written by
Geoffrey Household | ... | (novel "Rogue Male") |
Dudley Nichols | ... | (screenplay) |
Lamar Trotti | ... | (contract writer) (uncredited) |
Produced by
Len Hammond | ... | associate producer (uncredited) |
Kenneth Macgowan | ... | associate producer |
Darryl F. Zanuck | ... | executive producer (uncredited) |
Music by
Alfred Newman | ||
David Buttolph | ... | (uncredited) |
Cinematography by
Arthur C. Miller | ... | director of photography (as Arthur Miller) |
Editing by
Allen McNeil |
Art Direction by
Richard Day | ||
Wiard Ihnen | ... | (as Wiard B. Ihnen) |
Set Decoration by
Thomas Little |
Costume Design by
Travis Banton |
Production Management
William Koenig | ... | production manager (uncredited) |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ad Schaumer | ... | assistant director (uncredited) |
Art Department
Don B. Greenwood | ... | property master (uncredited) |
Sound Department
Eugene Grossman | ... | sound |
Roger Heman Sr. | ... | sound (as Roger Heman) |
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff | ... | costume jeweller (uncredited) |
Music Department
Edward B. Powell | ... | orchestrator (uncredited) |
Herbert W. Spencer | ... | orchestrator (uncredited) |
Additional Crew
Howard Batt | ... | technical advisor (uncredited) |
Production Companies
Distributors
- Twentieth Century Fox (1941) (United States) (theatrical) (as Twentieth Century-Fox)
- Twentieth Century Fox Film Company (1941) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- Fox Films (1941) (Argentina) (theatrical)
- Twentieth Century-Fox (1941) (Mexico) (theatrical)
- National Telefilm Associates (NTA) (1957) (United States) (tv)
- France 3 (1994) (France) (tv) (French subtitles)
- Fox Video (1997) (United States) (VHS)
- 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2009) (United States) (DVD)
- Ciné-Sorbonne (2015) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
- Films sans Frontières (2018) (World-wide) (DVD)
- Twilight Time (2014) (World-wide) (Blu-ray)
- The Criterion Channel (2023) (United States) (tv) (streaming)
Special Effects
Other Companies
- La-La Land Records (soundtrack) (limited edition)
Storyline
Plot Summary |
In July 1939, English big-game hunter Captain Alan Thorndike infiltrates Adolph Hitler's retreat Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps and takes aim at Hitler with his high-powered rifle. Although Thorndike had intended to carry out a "sporting stalk" only, and does not have bullets in his gun, he loads the weapon after locating the target. A German soldier surprises him, however, and his bullet goes astray. Thorndike is brought to Gestapo Major Quive-Smith, to whom he explains that he did not intend to kill Hitler. Quive-Smith does not believe him, however, and orders him to confess that his assassination attempt was at the request of the British government. Although Quive-Smith promises him freedom, Thorndike refuses to sign the prepared confession and is tortured by the Gestapo. When Thorndike still refuses to sign, Quive-Smith arranges for him to be thrown off a cliff in what will look like an accident, but he falls into a river and survives. The next day, the Gestapo searches for Thorndike but he eludes his pursuers and reaches a harbor, where he boards a boat bound for Britain. An intrepid cabin boy named Vaner hides him while one of Quive-Smith's men, Mr. Jones, boards with Thorndike's passport. Vaner keeps Thorndike hidden during the journey, but once he is ashore, Thorndike realizes that Jones and other Gestapo agents are following him, and he ducks into an apartment to escape. He appeals to the apartment's resident, a young Cockney woman named Jerry Stokes, for aid, and she helps him get to his brother's house. Thorndike's brother, Lord Gerald Risborough, is an ambassador, who warns him that the German embassy is looking for him, and that England must acquiesce if Germany demands his extradition. Thorndike vows to disappear from England, then leaves with Jerry and sleeps on her couch. The next morning, Thorndike outlines his plans and does not notice that Jerry has fallen in love with him. She pouts until he takes her to buy a pin to replace the one she lost from her tam-o'-shanter, and she chooses a large chromium arrow. Jerry then accompanies Thorndike to the office of his solicitor, Saul Farnsworthy, where he tries to give her five hundred pounds. She refuses the money, and their squabbling is cut short when an assistant announces that Quive-Smith and Jones are on their way to the office. Thorndike and Jerry escape to the Underground, where Thorndike is chased by Jones. After a fight, Jones is electrocuted on the third rail, and, because he still carries Thorndike's passport, his corpse is identified as the hunter. Realizing that the British police are now after him as well, Thorndike instructs Jerry to write to him at Lyme Regis in three weeks with any news. After a tearful farewell, Jerry returns to her apartment, where Quive-Smith is waiting for her. Three weeks later, Thorndike, who has been living in a cave in the woods, goes to the post office to pick up Jerry's letter. When he returns to his cave, Thorndike discovers that the letter is from Quive-Smith, who has followed him and blocked the cave's opening. Through a small opening, Quive-Smith hands Thorndike Jerry's tam-o'-shanter and says that she was found dead on the street after jumping out her window. Enraged by Jerry's murder, Thorndike finally admits that he did intend to kill Hitler, although he did not realize it at the time. Stalling for time, Thorndike agrees to sign the confession and constructs a bow while Quive-Smith opens the entrance to the cave. As Quive-Smith reaches for the signed confession, Thorndike shoots him with the arrow from Jerry's hat. As he dies, Quive-Smith shoots Thorndike with a pistol, but before he collapses, Thorndike destroys the confession. Months pass as Thorndike recuperates and Europe is thrown into war. Once he has recovered, Thorndike joins the RAF, and on a reconnaissance mission over Germany, bails out with a high-powered rifle, intent on fulfilling his purpose this time. |
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Taglines | One of the Most Gripping Scenes Ever Filmed...as two world-famous hunters stalk each Other! (print ad - Lubbock Morning Avalanche - Midway Theatre - Lubbock, Texas - August 27, 1942) See more » |
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Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
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Did You Know?
Trivia | Very little indeed remains of Geoffrey Household's original novel in this adaptation, but the author, interviewed about it over 30 years later, conceded that "Fritz Lang made a smashing film out of my book." See more » |
Goofs | As Thorndike is being chased through Ye Olde London town, and we know it is London because some Pearly Kings (with the sort of execrable cockney accents that Dick Van Dyke would later utilize) pass him in a cobbled, foggy street, the pub in the background has bat-wing doors of the sort found in western saloons in the US. No pub in Great Britain has such doors; they have proper doorways that keep out the rain, fog, snow, and general misery. See more » |
Movie Connections | Edited into Une histoire seule (1989). See more » |
Soundtracks | She Was Poor but She Was Honest See more » |
Quotes |
Captain Alan Thorndike:
Every good soldier needs a crest for his cap. And you shall have your pin, set with diamonds if you wish. See more » |