Hitler's Children

Gripping WW2 movie about a young Gestapo officer (Tim Holt) who must choose between his loyalty to Hitler and the American girl he loves (Bonita Granville). Well-photographed and directed, it's a powerful and fascinating movie that has a lot to chew on for history buffs but is also an entertaining dramatic picture. It was pretty shocking stuff at the time, which led to it being a big hit at the box office. Tim Holt is fantastic in this. Definitely in his top three roles. He was a good actor who's largely forgotten today except among classic film fans. Bonita Granville has one of her meatiest parts here. This is a far cry from Nancy Drew. Kent Smith has a nice role as a sympathetic teacher. He narrates the first part of the movie. Otto Kruger and Hans Conried are two of the Nazis. As with a lot of WW2 era films on IMDb, you'll notice the reviews here are full of the word 'propaganda.' Try to ignore that. The problem isn't with the word itself but some use it to cast aspersions or impugn the honesty of a film. People these days have so many axes to grind and so much anger towards the wrong things. It's unsettling to me but, frankly, I'd rather not unravel that thread.