Let's not kid ourselves, "Hitler's Madman" is not only no masterpiece
but pretty terrible in places yet director Douglas Sirk's movie about
the assassination of Heydrich, made almost as the events themselves were
unfolding, has great moments. There are scenes here as good as any in
war movies, just as there are B-Movie moments as bad as any in B-Movies.
Certainly the events portrayed are harrowing enough for this to feel
like the ultimate feel-bad movie; perhaps what is most astonishing is that it was made at all while the war was still going on.
It's let down, (badly), by some awful acting but redeemed by Sirk's
brilliant handling of individual scenes and by a terrific performance
from John Carradine as Heydrich, (his death scene is Oscar-worthy). It
may not stick very closely to the events but it's still preferable to
the more recent movie dealing with the same subject.
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