"The Beast of Berlin" is one of those early anti-Nazi propaganda films that Hollywood churned out in 1939. Of course, "TBOB" wasn't the first anti-Nazi effort. The distinction lay with Warner Brothers and their Edward G. Robinson procedural thriller "Confessions of a Nazi Spy." Nevertheless, where "COANS" was compelling stuff, "TBOB" is grim, unrelenting stuff. Unless you are watching it for its historical significance, this movie can be a chore to handle.
The film focuses on a group of Germans who run an underground newspaper that publishes the truth that Hitler's government suppresses. We get to know these people as committed crusaders. They are married or with girlfriends. A former soldier in the Kaiser's army, Hans Memling (Roland Drew of "Lady Gangster") heads up this chapter of the underground. He is committed to his work and he convinces Karl (Alan Ladd of "Gangs, Inc.,") to not worry.
Inevitably, the Nazis discover Hans' operation and our protagonists submit to brutal, inhuman torture. The Nazi thugs that administer torture via bull whip are photographed from a Dutch tilt angle accentuating the savagery. They are an unsavory looking bunch and they have fun making their victims hurt.
They have an insider who works for the Gestapo. This guilt-stricken fellow eventually collapses under the weight of his conscience and gives himself away. He does this during a drinking party with several of his Nazi comrades. As he tries to leave the party, climbing the stairs, one of his compatriots shoots him down and the other grouses that they won't get any information out o f him.
The Alan Ladd character dies about fifty minutes into the action. He cannot stand his heavily regimented life behind barbed wire and futilely tries to escape by going alone late at night. The Nazis trap him in their searchlight and mow him down with a machine gun. Miraculously, the anti-Nazi underground helps Hans get out of the same concentration camp by bribing Nazi officials. Safely in Switzerland at fade-0ut, Hans' wife Else (Steffi Duna of "Anthony Adverse"), convinces Hans that they can do more to expose the evils of Hitler's Germany from the outside rather than the inside. The film does a good job of depicting the Nazis as animals. Hitler appears in documentary newsreel footage. Oddly enough, the swastika on the flags seems to be revered.
Director Sherman Scott was another name for the prolific Samuel Neufeld who received credit for helming over 270 films in his long career. Neufeld spends too much time letting the actors talk and most of the film unfolds within four walls so there really is much active action. This film suffered from heavy censorship and the producers had to alter the original cut to get it released. Anybody that has an uncut version of this minor anti-Nazi should have it put onto DVD.
The film focuses on a group of Germans who run an underground newspaper that publishes the truth that Hitler's government suppresses. We get to know these people as committed crusaders. They are married or with girlfriends. A former soldier in the Kaiser's army, Hans Memling (Roland Drew of "Lady Gangster") heads up this chapter of the underground. He is committed to his work and he convinces Karl (Alan Ladd of "Gangs, Inc.,") to not worry.
Inevitably, the Nazis discover Hans' operation and our protagonists submit to brutal, inhuman torture. The Nazi thugs that administer torture via bull whip are photographed from a Dutch tilt angle accentuating the savagery. They are an unsavory looking bunch and they have fun making their victims hurt.
They have an insider who works for the Gestapo. This guilt-stricken fellow eventually collapses under the weight of his conscience and gives himself away. He does this during a drinking party with several of his Nazi comrades. As he tries to leave the party, climbing the stairs, one of his compatriots shoots him down and the other grouses that they won't get any information out o f him.
The Alan Ladd character dies about fifty minutes into the action. He cannot stand his heavily regimented life behind barbed wire and futilely tries to escape by going alone late at night. The Nazis trap him in their searchlight and mow him down with a machine gun. Miraculously, the anti-Nazi underground helps Hans get out of the same concentration camp by bribing Nazi officials. Safely in Switzerland at fade-0ut, Hans' wife Else (Steffi Duna of "Anthony Adverse"), convinces Hans that they can do more to expose the evils of Hitler's Germany from the outside rather than the inside. The film does a good job of depicting the Nazis as animals. Hitler appears in documentary newsreel footage. Oddly enough, the swastika on the flags seems to be revered.
Director Sherman Scott was another name for the prolific Samuel Neufeld who received credit for helming over 270 films in his long career. Neufeld spends too much time letting the actors talk and most of the film unfolds within four walls so there really is much active action. This film suffered from heavy censorship and the producers had to alter the original cut to get it released. Anybody that has an uncut version of this minor anti-Nazi should have it put onto DVD.