The Lives of Bengal Lancers (1935): Colonial Comaderie Sullied by Hitler

In the imperialist traditions of the likes of Tarzan The Ape Man (1932), Gunga Din (1939) and even Lawrence of Arabia (1962) comes The Lives of Bengal Lancers. We cannot take the era or the colonial sentiments for granted like the contemporary viewer did since we must reconcile with the complicated... Read full article

A Besta de Berlim (1939) / Hitler – Beast of Berlin (1939)

A Besta de Berlim (1939) / Hitler – Beast of Berlin (1939) Alguns dias atrás lembramos os 80 anos desde o começo da Segunda Guerra Mundial. O filme de baixo orçamento “A Besta de Berlim” estreou um mês após o início da guerra. Trata-se de um artefato histórico muito ... Read full article

Warner Archive--Cinema's Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood

From 1933 to 1940, more than 800 film professionals fled Nazi Germany for Hollywood. Despite challenges of language, finances, lodging and assimilation, many of them found success in America and even helped to shape the film industry. In fact, in the years leading up to World War II, American cin... Read full article

World War II Films: Hitler Satires

Decades before "Springtime for Hitler" (Mel Brooks' The Producers), there were Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator and Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be, two classic comedies, which respectively hold places 37 and 49 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list. Both films poke fun of Hitler and his regi... Read full article

Hail Hynkel: Chaplin’s Ingenious Critique of Hitler (2013)

Charlie Chaplin was not just a movie star, he was an American icon and his fame did not simply end in the States but reached all over the globe. Furthermore, his name is synonymous with the Little Tramp who is still widely known to this day. True, Chaplin had rough patches, through numerous marriag... Read full article