
Gather ’round while I tell a story.
Once upon a time, there was a time when it was universally agreed that Nazis were Bad People. As the late Norm Macdonald said, “You know, with Hitler, the more I learn about that guy, the more I don’t care for him.”
Those were the days, weren’t they!
Anyway, Nazism was so unpopular in the 1940s that even the organized crime syndicates fought actively to discourage their popularity here in the United States. Meyer Lansky and the Jewish mob were among the first, but it was a nationwide phenomenon that even caught the attention of Hollywood. Then the Hays Code came along and reminded everyone that traditional villains (e.g. mobsters) weren’t allowed to appear to be heroes.
But at least one film sneaked by, in 1942. All Through the Night, starring Humphrey Bogart and a huge stable of character actors, follows one shady character as he checks out the death of a local baker, which leads to a huge Nazi infiltration plot.
Several years later, in 1991 we have The Rocketeer, a live-action Disney film directed by Joe Johnston and starring Billy Campbell and Jennifer Connelly, and another stable of character actors. It’s based on the 1982 graphic novel by Dave Stevens. This film also deals with someone inadvertenly getting mixed up in a Nazi plot. This time they’re doing it to steal technology that could turn the tide of the war.
Both films are quite suspenseful and a lot of fun, with several comic turns that don’t take away from the main plotline.
COMING ATTRACTIONS:
Our next episode will be dropping shortly before Christmas, so what better time to break out a couple of Christmas miracles? We’ll be checking out 1944’s Miracle of Morgan’s Creek, a film with a decidedly controversial topic attached to it, and 1947’s Miracle on 34th Street. Join us, won’t you?