SnoReptilePlenty
Memorable, crazy movie
BelSports
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Jonah Abbott
There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
Wizard-8
A modestly budgeted "B" movie, "Hitler's Children" generated a lot of controversy and publicity when it was released to theaters - which of course meant that the movie ended up being a giant financial success to RKO Pictures. Seen today, what was undoubtedly controversial at the time such as state-dictated breeding, forced sterilization, and whippings as depicted by this film comes across as very tame by today's standards; fans of exploitation material will no doubt be let down. Another disappointment is that while the movie promises to show just how German children were converted to loyal Nazis, the movie leaves out a lot of the steps the Nazis took to slowly convert children to the cause. Still, the movie's central story definitely isn't boring (though it is kind of predictable). The movie also has additional interest to World War II buffs who may be interested in seeing another example of how Hollywood fought the war on the home front. If you are such a person, and/or interested in seeing what was considered exploitation by a major Hollywood studio more than 70 years ago, there's probably enough here to interest you.
dbdumonteil
A propaganda movie,"Hitler's children " shows how the youth was brought up, and forced to consider Hitler a God;hints at Napoleon are not gratuitous:in their Sunday school lessons,children were told that if they did not obey their emperor ,they would face eternal damnation!But as the character adds:"Napoleon's speeches passed,Hitler's will and art and music will endure .If Dmytryk is not completely convincing,it stems from the part of Karl.His motives are obscure and ceaselessly changing ;his evolution,considering his ambition and his faith in the Fürher ,does not make any sense;Anna ,on the other hand ,is true to herself from start to finish;the scene of the lashes,in front of the camp and the officers , may have inspired Verhoeven for his "starship troopers"which ,despite its limitations, is a condemnation of fascism too.The best scene is perhaps the moment when Anna and Karl discover a young boy in the wood,gagged and bound;"it's part of the training" he says.
sol
***There are Spoilers*** The movie "Hitler's Children" starts with a torch light ceremony with hundreds of Hitler Youth at some outdoor sports stadium in, what seems like, Nuremberg. The movie ends with the German City of Colone bombed into rubble in one of the many USAAF/RAF 1,000 plane bombing raids on the Third Reich during WWII. That's about the most penetrating realistic and effective scenes in the movie. Somewhat unconvincing love story between an American girl Ann Miller/Muller, Bonita Grandville, who was born in Germany and a German boy and on and off fanatical Nazi Karl Bruner,Tim Holt, who was born in America who's lives become entangled during the movie. Anna later ends up in a German work camp with Karl being the one who's assigned to have her given ten lashes for being uncooperative and disloyal to the Fuhuer and his Nazi henchmen.The movie tries very hard to make the Nazis look bad and evil but only makes them look like a bunch of ridicules and bumbling buffoons who can't even keep a girl, Anna, in line much less be able to conquer almost all of Europe and even threaten to take over the entire world. Both Anna and Karl also change horses in midstream a number of times in the movie going from one extreme as die in the wool Nazis to another by openly denouncing the Nazi party and it's leader Adolf Hitler to the point where they can be shot on the spot which is exactly what happens at the end of the film.Being enrolled at the American School in Berlin Anna meets Karl during one of the many fight that the American students have with the Nazi Youths in the school that they attend across the street. In all these fights the Nazi supermen always seem to get the hell beaten out of them. Karl having his skull cracked in a fight with the American youths goes into their school to talk to principle and professor "Nicky" Nichols, Kent Smith, to get some dressing and medicine for his badly swollen head. It turns out that the real reason Karl went there was to get a peek at Anna whom he's secretly in love with. Karl makes a play for Anna and she really starts to get to like him but then the movie goes six years into the future, from the spring of 1933 to the spring of 1939. It's then now begin see that the world, and Germany, changed for the worse and so did Karl.Rounding up all unfit, psychically and mentally, undesirables to go to work for the state and all German born foreigners, like Anna, to be inducted into educational camps to become full-fledged Nazis things that was taken for granted in the pre-Nazi era have now been taken away from the German People. All this was replaced with a cult-of-personality, Hitler & Co,like government that's to be worshiped and obeyed by all Germans in Germany and abroad.It's hard to take the Nazi's seriously in the movie when we see them go to the extreme of using an entire, armed to the teeth, Gestapo unit to chase down and captured Anna for just taking off from camp without permission. And later ending up getting whipped in public for it. where at same time the Nazis not as much as say boo to the Catholic Bishop, H.B Warner, who tells off the head of the Gestapo Major Copel, played by Gavin Muir, to the point of insulting Hitler and wishing that his Third Reich would go down in flames and be stomped into the ground by it's enemies! You would think that the least that Gestapo chief Copel, being the evil and unfeeling person that he is, would do is give the Bishop a warning to not says things like that again if he knows what's good for him! But all Major Copel does is look stupid and put on a pose that seemed to be an imitation of Napoleon Bonaparte!Karl soon fell from grace by showing that he was human and not a mind-controlled Nazi with him showing affection and refusing to whip his love Anna. He's then made to repent his crimes. Karl is made to speak on the German Government radio telling the youth of Germany what a big mistake he made by turning his back on Hitler and his Third Reich and begging for forgiveness. Karl is to do this before he's to be executed for what he did with Anna, who's also facing a Nazi firing squad, present. It's not hard to guess what happens at this great and live event with millions of German listeners tuned in and tens of thousands outside the radio studio to see it live and in color. Karl knowing he has nothing to lose changes his tune in mid-sentence yet is still allowed to go on with his renouncing of Hitler and his Nazi policies! The Nazi bigwigs at the studio don't seem to have a clue to what he's saying until Karl almost finishes his speech and then blast him away together with the now happy, and now all is forgiven, Anna. This all happens with everyone man woman and child, and even pet,in the Third Reich listening in.Even as war-time propaganda "Hitler's Children" came up short and didn't deliver the goods being that the story took place from 1933 to 1939. Two years before America entered the war against Germany and even before WWII broke out in September of that, 1939, year! The worst crime that Adolf Hitler committed up to the time that "Hitler's Children" was supposed to take place was the rounding up and shooting of some 1,000 of his own brutal and criminal Nazi Brownshits. This happened on the evening of June 30-July 1, 1934 in what became known as the infamous Night of the Long Knives.
Bucs1960
War time propaganda films must be viewed in the context of the times in which they were made. It is sometimes difficult to appreciate a film because of the framework of propaganda. This film, made at the beginning of the war with Germany, attempts to depict what was happening in that country and the threat it posed to the world. It may be somewhat simplified but it gets the point across.Bonita Granville, an appealing actress who began her career as a child star, does a fine job as the German/American young woman who is caught up in the maelstrom of Nazism. Tim Holt, as the German officer, seems miscast somehow.....I still see him searching for the Treasure of Sierra Madre with Humphrey Bogart but maybe that's just my problem. Kent Smith, a yeoman actor, whose face was everywhere during the 40's, is his usual bland self. The coup of casting is Otto Kruger as Tim Holt's mentor.....he was an underrated actor, who always gave good performances.....see him in "Murder My Sweet" as the sleazy Anthor to really appreciate his talents. Hans Conreid, usually thought of as a comic actor, plays against type here and it works well enough. Since hindsight is 20/20, we notice that some of the major atrocities of the Nazi regime, such as concentration camps (mentioned briefly) and the "Jewish question" are not addressed. View this film for what it is....propaganda....an attempt to show the audience that other world, where terrible things were happening and why America was fighting to preserve freedom. It's a piece of history that is worth watching.
