Are We Civilized?

The documentary "Hitler's Reign of Terror" debuted in April 1934 and is considered the first anti-Nazi film. "Are We Civilized?" debuted two months later. It's probably the first fictional anti-Nazi film, which gives it some historic interest. OK, the country where it takes place is never identified as Germany but it's pretty obvious. Unfortunately the writing is pretty stilted, the plot isn't really credible, and about half of it is a simplistic lesson in human history illustrated by clips from old silent films.

The plot concerns an ex-German soldier from World War One, with a metal plate in his head , who somehow by 1934 has moved to the US and become owner of the world's larges newspaper syndicate, with his adult son as second in command. The son is engaged to the daughter of the father's boyhood best friend, who now has become the head of Germany's propaganda and censorship bureau. At a state dinner is his honor, the refugee news magnate naively launches an attack on German state censorship and things go downhill from there.

Adding to the unintentional humor is that everyone in Germany speaks only English with a variety of attempts at German accents, when the actors remember, although some cops who invade the press syndicate's palatial offices to burn books sound straight from the Bronx.

Unlikely you'll want to sit through the whole movie if you can find it, but film history buffs should enjoy browsing through it. The film makers at least deserve some credit for their boldness in bringing it out at a time when many in the US were quite opposed to criticism of Hitler.