Hangmen Also Die! (1943) | Directed by Fritz Lang

"Hangmen Also Die!" (1943) is a wartime thriller set during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. The film follows the aftermath of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, a high-ranking Nazi official known as "The Butcher of Prague." After the resistance fighter responsible for the killing, Dr. Svoboda, goes into hiding, the Gestapo launches a brutal crackdown, taking hostages and demanding the assassin be found. As the resistance and ordinary citizens band together to protect Svoboda, they engage in a dangerous game of deception and sacrifice to outsmart the occupiers. The film is a tense and gripping portrayal of courage and resistance under oppressive rule.

Star Cast:
- Brian Donlevy as Dr. František Svoboda
- Walter Brennan as Professor Stephen Novotny
- Anna Lee as Mascha Novotny
- Gene Lockhart as Emil Czaka
- Alexander Granach as Inspector Gruber

Director: Fritz Lang

Public Reaction: "Hangmen Also Die!" was praised for its intense, suspenseful storyline and its portrayal of resistance against tyranny. Directed by Fritz Lang, the film was noted for its stark, noir-inspired visuals and gripping sense of paranoia and danger. Audiences were moved by the film's depiction of solidarity among the oppressed, and it resonated as a powerful piece of wartime propaganda that captured the spirit of defiance. Critics admired the strong performances, especially by Brian Donlevy and Walter Brennan, and the film's complex moral questions about loyalty, sacrifice, and betrayal. Though some found the plot a bit convoluted, it was largely regarded as a significant and compelling wartime drama.