The July 20, 1944 a plot to kill German dictator Adolf Hitler by a group of Germans opposed to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and led by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg has caught the attention of filmmakers over the years, the most recent being 2008's Valkyrie. The Plot To Kill Hitler is a 1990 TV movie that details that plot. So what does this dramatization of the plot have to offer?
The cast is somewhat mixed. Brad Davis a good choice for the role of Colonel von Stauffenberg thanks to his bearing a good resemblance to the real life figure. Yet Davis comes across as rather flat in his performance for the most part though he has some nice moments such as early in the film when he's coming to terms with the loss of his left hand. Faring somewhat better is Madolyn Smith Osborne as his wife Nina as the movie focuses quite a bit on the relationship between the two of them. The supporting cast fairs somewhat better with Ian Richardson's spot on performance as General Beck, Helmut Griem as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and Jonathan Hyde as Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels. That said some of the supporting performances don't work at all such as Rupert Graves as a would be assassin and Mike Gwilym as an over the top Hitler. The result overall is a mixed bag acting wise despite some good performances but that isn't completely the fault of the cast.
The production values for The Plot To Kill Hitler are about average for a TV movie. The movie was shot in Eastern Europe and it looks like it. That isn't really a bad thing since it does bare a very good resemblance to Second World War Germany. But it becomes exceedingly obvious in places like the early scene set in Tunisia for instance. Also certain places like Hitler's eastern front headquarters the Wolf's Lair come across as less then convincing for the most part. The costumes and props come across much better in recreating the era then the sets do. Perhaps the best aspects of the production values are the cinematography of Freddie Francis and the fine score done for the film by composer Laurence Rosenthal both of which elevate the movie a bit. The overall result though is less then impressive though.
That could really be said about the script by Steven Elkins. Elkins script gets across the basic facts of the July 20 plot but to be honest it really does little else. The dialogue and characterizations are one dimensional to say the least with the only purpose of getting the basic points across. The movie does takes some big liberties with events such as suggesting that the July 20th bomb plot was more or less a spur of the moment event while ignoring the aborted attempt made a few days prior, all done presumably for the sake of getting the basic points across. There's an especially glaring historical error involving Hitler consulting an astrologer about the course of the war, something that was widely rumored but later found to be untrue. The result then is that the movie becomes rather uninteresting for the most part, even for someone interested in the history more then the drama.
As a movie, The Plot To Kill Hitler comes across as little more then average between its mixed cast, average production values and less then impressive scripting. As a history lesson, it gets across the basic facts of the July 20th plot even though it takes so considerable dramatic liberties with the events. In short then, it does the job it sets out to do but surprisingly does little else.
The cast is somewhat mixed. Brad Davis a good choice for the role of Colonel von Stauffenberg thanks to his bearing a good resemblance to the real life figure. Yet Davis comes across as rather flat in his performance for the most part though he has some nice moments such as early in the film when he's coming to terms with the loss of his left hand. Faring somewhat better is Madolyn Smith Osborne as his wife Nina as the movie focuses quite a bit on the relationship between the two of them. The supporting cast fairs somewhat better with Ian Richardson's spot on performance as General Beck, Helmut Griem as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and Jonathan Hyde as Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels. That said some of the supporting performances don't work at all such as Rupert Graves as a would be assassin and Mike Gwilym as an over the top Hitler. The result overall is a mixed bag acting wise despite some good performances but that isn't completely the fault of the cast.
The production values for The Plot To Kill Hitler are about average for a TV movie. The movie was shot in Eastern Europe and it looks like it. That isn't really a bad thing since it does bare a very good resemblance to Second World War Germany. But it becomes exceedingly obvious in places like the early scene set in Tunisia for instance. Also certain places like Hitler's eastern front headquarters the Wolf's Lair come across as less then convincing for the most part. The costumes and props come across much better in recreating the era then the sets do. Perhaps the best aspects of the production values are the cinematography of Freddie Francis and the fine score done for the film by composer Laurence Rosenthal both of which elevate the movie a bit. The overall result though is less then impressive though.
That could really be said about the script by Steven Elkins. Elkins script gets across the basic facts of the July 20 plot but to be honest it really does little else. The dialogue and characterizations are one dimensional to say the least with the only purpose of getting the basic points across. The movie does takes some big liberties with events such as suggesting that the July 20th bomb plot was more or less a spur of the moment event while ignoring the aborted attempt made a few days prior, all done presumably for the sake of getting the basic points across. There's an especially glaring historical error involving Hitler consulting an astrologer about the course of the war, something that was widely rumored but later found to be untrue. The result then is that the movie becomes rather uninteresting for the most part, even for someone interested in the history more then the drama.
As a movie, The Plot To Kill Hitler comes across as little more then average between its mixed cast, average production values and less then impressive scripting. As a history lesson, it gets across the basic facts of the July 20th plot even though it takes so considerable dramatic liberties with the events. In short then, it does the job it sets out to do but surprisingly does little else.