The Plot to Kill Hitler
The Plot to Kill Hitler is a 1990 television film based on the July 20 plot by German High Command to kill Adolf Hitler in 1944. Brad Davis stars as Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, who plants a bomb in the conference room of the Führer's headquarters in East Prussia.
| The Plot to Kill Hitler | |
|---|---|
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| Written by | Steven Elkins |
| Directed by | Lawrence Schiller |
| Starring | Brad Davis Ian Richardson Michael Byrne Rupert Graves Helmut Griem |
| Music by | Laurence Rosenthal |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Alfred R. Kelman Bernard Sofronski |
| Cinematography | Freddie Francis |
| Editor | Bernard Gribble |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original release |
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Plot summary
Led by Army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, several German High Command officers plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler and take control of the German government, with the ultimate intention of surrendering their country to the Allies. Stauffenberg manages to plant a bomb, hidden in his briefcase, in Hitler's battlefield headquarters. By sheer luck, Heinz Brandt unwittingly moves the briefcase slightly, and Hitler survives the subsequent blast. In the final hours of July 20, 1944, Stauffenberg, Lieutenant Werner von Haeften, General Friedrich Olbricht, Ludwig Beck, and Colonel Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim are arrested and tried. Beck commits suicide, and the rest are taken to be executed. Stauffenberg declares "Long live the sacred Germany!" before being killed, and the others are also killed beside him within seconds.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Brad Davis | Claus von Stauffenberg |
| Madolyn Smith | Nina von Stauffenberg |
| Ian Richardson | General Ludwig Beck |
| Kenneth Colley | Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel |
| Michael Byrne | General Friedrich Olbricht |
| Helmut Lohner | General Friedrich Fromm |
| Jonathan Hyde | Joseph Goebbels |
| Rupert Graves | Axel von dem Bussche |
| Helmut Griem | Field Marshal Erwin Rommel |
| Mike Gwilym | Adolf Hitler |
| Vernon Dobtcheff | General Erich Fellgiebel |
| Christoph Eichhorn | General Helmuth Stieff |
| Michael Fitzegerald | Major Ernst John von Freyend |
| Jack Hedley | General Adolf Heusinger |
| Heather Chasen | The Baroness |
| Burkhard Heyl | Colonel Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim |
| Timothy Watson | Major Ernst Remer |
Production
The movie was filmed in the United States and Zagreb, Yugoslavia.