SON OF HITLER!!!!!!!!!!!!
(NOTE: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!)
Oh my...where to begin...
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?????????? Did they think this could ever possibly have an audience? And apparently it didn't, because it was never released in any country in any theatrical venue, broadcast medium, or video format whatsoever. Not officially, anyway... :) Luckily for this Cushing collector, I received an excellent film-chained VHS copy of it for my birthday...
Wilhelm Hitler (Bud Cort), Willi for short, son of Adolf, has been sheltered away from civilization on a mountaintop since WWII, courtesy of a reformed former Nazi officer. Peter Cushing is Heinrich Haussner, a senior member of a neo-Nazi-type organization called Never Encourage Intellectual Nonsense (N.E.I.N., yuk yuk), who finds out about Willi's existence, and wants to track him down in order to make him the new Fuehrer. All sorts of silly, tasteless, often boring, and ultimately twisted shenanigans follow.
Peter Cushing is very good indeed; his ripping apart of the storekeeper during his search for Hitler's son is particularly fine, and this is probably the only time you'll see him do pratfalls (although from a distance...whether he did his own stunts in this, I have no idea...I suspect he didn't). Poor Bud Cort gives it an admirable stab, considering the material he has to work with. I must say, with that haircut he does look the part. An easy check for Anton Diffring, who's thrown away in just a few scenes. HOWEVER...the inescapable problem with this film is that real footage of Adolf Hitler simply isn't funny. Not surprisingly. The constant use of real Nazi footage stops whatever feeble comedy there is dead in its tracks whenever it occurs. Perhaps if the writing were of early Mel Brooks-caliber, it would have worked a little better, but...it's not. So, as a comedy, this is a complete and utter disaster. But, as a nutzoid curiosity piece, it's priceless. This film is twisted. Peter's rapid-fire Hitler flashbacks during Bud's final speech are particularly unnerving. The tacking on of "Der Fuehrer's Face" over more real Nazi footage at the end just doesn't work, again not surprisingly, and ends the film on a particularly bizarre, creepy note. I think the only really funny scene in the film is where Bud's wandering around town all decked out in Nazi splendor, blissfully unaware of the negative historical significance of his outfit, causing horrified stares and car crashes. That actually had me laughing pretty hard. I also kind of liked the scene where Bud demonstrates to the girl in the car how Peter's forcing him to be his father by ranting Hitler-style, and Peter notices from afar and starts getting excited...
All in all, definitely a relic worth having, especially for Cushing fans, because it's a rare chance to see him play straight comedy in a major role. But, good luck in tracking it down!
(NOTE: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!)
Oh my...where to begin...
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?????????? Did they think this could ever possibly have an audience? And apparently it didn't, because it was never released in any country in any theatrical venue, broadcast medium, or video format whatsoever. Not officially, anyway... :) Luckily for this Cushing collector, I received an excellent film-chained VHS copy of it for my birthday...
Wilhelm Hitler (Bud Cort), Willi for short, son of Adolf, has been sheltered away from civilization on a mountaintop since WWII, courtesy of a reformed former Nazi officer. Peter Cushing is Heinrich Haussner, a senior member of a neo-Nazi-type organization called Never Encourage Intellectual Nonsense (N.E.I.N., yuk yuk), who finds out about Willi's existence, and wants to track him down in order to make him the new Fuehrer. All sorts of silly, tasteless, often boring, and ultimately twisted shenanigans follow.
Peter Cushing is very good indeed; his ripping apart of the storekeeper during his search for Hitler's son is particularly fine, and this is probably the only time you'll see him do pratfalls (although from a distance...whether he did his own stunts in this, I have no idea...I suspect he didn't). Poor Bud Cort gives it an admirable stab, considering the material he has to work with. I must say, with that haircut he does look the part. An easy check for Anton Diffring, who's thrown away in just a few scenes. HOWEVER...the inescapable problem with this film is that real footage of Adolf Hitler simply isn't funny. Not surprisingly. The constant use of real Nazi footage stops whatever feeble comedy there is dead in its tracks whenever it occurs. Perhaps if the writing were of early Mel Brooks-caliber, it would have worked a little better, but...it's not. So, as a comedy, this is a complete and utter disaster. But, as a nutzoid curiosity piece, it's priceless. This film is twisted. Peter's rapid-fire Hitler flashbacks during Bud's final speech are particularly unnerving. The tacking on of "Der Fuehrer's Face" over more real Nazi footage at the end just doesn't work, again not surprisingly, and ends the film on a particularly bizarre, creepy note. I think the only really funny scene in the film is where Bud's wandering around town all decked out in Nazi splendor, blissfully unaware of the negative historical significance of his outfit, causing horrified stares and car crashes. That actually had me laughing pretty hard. I also kind of liked the scene where Bud demonstrates to the girl in the car how Peter's forcing him to be his father by ranting Hitler-style, and Peter notices from afar and starts getting excited...
All in all, definitely a relic worth having, especially for Cushing fans, because it's a rare chance to see him play straight comedy in a major role. But, good luck in tracking it down!