After the German administrator of Czechia is shot, his assassin tries to elude the Gestapo and struggles with his impulse to give himself up as hostages are executed.
On May 27, 1942 the German Reichsprotector of Bohemia/Moravia, the "Hangman" Reinhard Heydrich, died from the bullets of unidentified resistance fighters. Hangmen Also Die is the story of Heydrich's assassination in fictionalized form. It was Bertolt Brecht's only comparatively successful Hollywood project; the money he received allowed him to write "The Visions of Simone Marchand", "Schwyk in the Second World War" and his adaptation of Webster's "The Duchess of Malfi". Hanns Eisler won an Academy Award for his musical score.—J.Arnold Free <[email protected]>
Right after the attempt on the life of the German "Reich protector," The Hangman of Prague, Reinhard Heydrich, on 27 May 1942, the appointed patriotic assassin seeks shelter in the house of the history professor, Stephen Novotny. Forced to spend the night because of the rigid curfew law, the unknown killer will manage to escape the fierce manhunt, however, Novotny along with several hundred random Czechs are captured, facing execution until the murderer surrenders. But despite the swift and brutal retaliation, the Germans still won't break the spirit of the defiant Czechs who refuse to inform against the killer, who by now, has become freedom's undeniable symbol. Suddenly, as the Gestapo goes to great lengths to expose the assassin, a despicable collaborator might have the solution. Is all hope gone?—Nick Riganas
An apocryphal version of the assassination of the German leader and "Reich protector" Reinhard Heydrich by a resistance fighter in World War II. The story follows the assassin as he evades the widening German dragnet, protected by his fellow Czechs even to the point of self-sacrifice. As the Czech people are put to the sword in increasing numbers in retaliation for the assassination and their refusal to give up the killer, a plan evolves to provide the Germans with an "assassin" who is actually a Czech traitor.—Jim Beaver <[email protected]>
On 27 May 1942, in Prague, the Deputy Reich-Protector of Bohemia and Moravia "Hangman" Reinhard Heydrich is shot. After the attempt on Heydrich's life, the killer seeks shelter at the house of the patriarch and former revolutionary Professor Stephen Novotny and spends the night with the family. The next morning, the Gestapo captures hostages including Professor Novotny to force the population to denounce the assassin. Nasha, Novotny's daughter, goes to St. Pancracio Hospital to find help to protect the hostages. She soon learns that she is going to have to take matters in to her own hands.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In Czechoslovakia on June 4, 1942 during the Nazi occupation of World War 2 the vicious Nazi Gestapo leader Reinhard Heydrich, known as The Hangman, is shot at a public location and the man responsible, Dr. Franz Svoboda (Brian Donlevy) has lost his escape because his driver has been arrested. Forced to move about the streets he runs out of options when martial law is announced and a curfew threatens his capture. Svoboda follows Mascha Novotny (Anna Lee) home from the market and posing as a social aquaintance manages to stay the night since the curfew has prevented his departure. Mascha's father Prof. Stephan Novotny (Walter Brennan), consistently suspected because of his anti-Nazi views, is taken into custody and Svoboda escapes disguised as a student. At the internment camp the group of Czech prisoners including Prof. Novotny are systematically assassinated and Mascha is taken into custody for questioning about the possible identity of the man who shot Heydrich and she works with the Czech counter-group to overthrow spies for the Nazi in hopes that she can save her father. One spy they discover in their midst is Emil Czaka (Gene Lockhart) a wealthy beer brewer who names 400 Czech citizens to be taken into custody and shot as a way to get to Svoboda, and during a complex plan they attempt to overthrow the Nazi grip on the Czech nation and save the prisoners.
