- Film Review
- Reviewed By Tony Sloman
-
3 out of 5
A grimly exciting war drama about the Czech resistance's plot to kill Reinhard Heydrich, deputy chief of the Gestapo and better known as Hitler's "Hangman". This is drily, if expertly, directed by Reach for the Sky veteran Lewis Gilbert, and features a motley cast including American Timothy Bottoms and a particularly excellent Anthony Andrews as Czech patriots. That this film convinces is a tribute to the story, and today, when the village of Lidice, which was razed by the Nazis in reprisal for the assassination, is hardly remembered, its telling is still timely.
Plot Summary
Second World War thriller starring Timothy Bottoms, Martin Shaw and Joss Ackland. Reinhard Heydrich is the leader of the occupying Nazi forces in Czechoslovakia, a man hated for his brutal treatment of the Czech people. Three exiled Czechs, trained by the British forces, parachute into their homeland with a mission to assassinate the Nazi who earned the nickname "The Hangman".
Cast and crew
Cast
- Jan Kubis
- Timothy Bottoms
- Karel Curda
- Martin Shaw
- Janak
- Joss Ackland
- Anna
- Nicola Pagett
- Joseph Gabcik
- Anthony Andrews
- Reinhard Heydrich
- Anton Diffring
- Aunt Marie
- Diana Coupland
- Father Petrek
- Cyril Shaps
- Hajek
- Ray Smith
- Vaclav
- Timothy West
Crew
- Director
- Lewis Gilbert
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