It might seem deeply immoral by present day standards (and it is) but young boys in Nazi Germany were indoctrinated with Hitler's ideologies in what was known as the Hitler Youth: one of only two youth organizations permitted by the state (the other being the League of German Girls). This movie, based on a play and made during the war, shows perfectly well how America and Germany differed greatly when it came to how kids ought to be raised. The story begins with Mike (Fredric March) and his soon-to-be wife Leona (Betty Field) receiving news that Mike's nephew, a german 11 year old named Emil (Skip Homeier) is coming to live with them. When Emil arrives, his way of speaking shows that he's far beyond the average mental capacity for someone of his age, but the US doesn't seem to impress him. Being from the Third Reich, Emil has been taught that might makes right and brutality is to be respected. He calls it regrettable when his uncle tells him his fiancee is Jewish. Emil has also been told by Nazi officials that his father was a cowardly traitor to the Fatherland. At the end of the First World War, Karl Bruckner (Emil's father) allegedly sowed discord on the homefront by stirring up communist sympathizers and causing germany to become politically destabilized from within. The nazis told Emil his father killed himself after being branded a traitor to germany, but Mike seems to know this isn't true. When the time comes for Emil to go to school, he appears disgusted by the fact that he's forced to be in contact with children of different ethnicities. At school, Emil meets Stan, a kid of Polish descent who doesn't hate Emil in spite of what germany did to his homeland. Leona is Emil's teacher, and also in his class is Pat (Joan Carroll), his cousin. Despite Mike's wishes to see Emil accept american customs and ideals, the boy refuses to get attached to a country he sees as "degenerate." One morning on the way to school, Emil sees Stan trying to hang clothes, which disgusts Emil since he sees this as women's work. He pushes Stan in mud and leaves. When Stan's neighbor, Millie, threatens to tell Leona about what she just saw him do, Emil threatens her by saying he will give orders back to germany for her father (a prisoner of war) to be executed if she doesn't keep her mouth shut. Leona finds out Emil blackmailed Millie and forces him to apologize to the class. Instead of apologizing, Emil stands at the front of the room, calls america a cesspool, and walks out. On the way home, he uses chalk to write nasty remarks about Leona on the sidewalk. When she finds out, she hits Emil, who says he's thankful since now, he won't have to feel sorry for hating her. Meanwhile, Emil's aunt Jessie (Agnes Moorehead) is reached out to by him since Emil thinks she would never hate him no matter what. Right before a birthday party is hosted for Emil, Pat hides behind a curtain and catches him trying to use keys he stole from Mike to break into his work desk. At first, Emil says he doesn't know what Pat is talking about, since he's carrying no keys, but she isn't fooled. After failing to threaten her into keeping quiet, Emil corners Pat in the cellar and nearly kills her with a fire iron. When everyone finds out about what he did, Emil tries to run away to save himself, but is eventually tracked down by Stan and his classmates. Emil, who previously said it would be his greatest honor to die for Hitler, is beaten within an inch of his life. He is taken to Mike's house, who proceeds to call the cops on him. However, after being given a watch by Pat for his birthday, Emil (for the first time) starts to show emotions. Leona convinces Mike that prison isn't the place for him, at least not yet. Mike tells Emil the truth about what happened to his father, and how the nazis killed him because they were afraid of his ideas, and how the story of him killing himself was just a lie to cover it up. After hearing the truth about his father, Emil is moved to tears. Mike and Leona now have evidence that he's not completely devoid of feelings, and decide to keep him in their house. People might think I'm out of my mind to say this, but this movie is quite good. Homeier obviously steals the show with his portrayal of someone who has been raised with the sole purpose of being a future killing machine in the name of National Socialism. While many nazi officials (even before the war) wisely cautioned Hitler against trying to pick a fight with the United States and its huge industrial power, Emil doesn't see it that way. In his mind, america should not have even been discovered. The rest of the movie is just ok by my standards, and even Homeier's performance isn't flawless, since his accent does wear on your ears after a while. Generally though, this is probably one of the most entertaining movies I've seen so far about adopting a nazi (since I haven't heard of any others).
Review of Tomorrow, the World!
