I grew up watching World War II movies in which British and American actors spoke English with a German accent. They said zis for this and vin for win. That’s how the three acting legends in The Boys From Brazil spoke. Gregory Peck and James Mason played Nazis and Laurence Olivier played a character based on Nazi hunter Simon Weisenthal. I got zis right, I hope it’s a vinner…

I was a film snob when The Boys From Brazil hit the big screen. It didn’t matter that Peck, Mason, and Olivier were in the cast, it was a goofy mainstream movie based on the best seller by Ira Levin, so I skipped it. I saw it for the first time this year on TCM.

I was wrong to skip this weirdly entertaining movie. The premise is outlandish, based on the myth of Dr. Josef Mengele who is played by Peck. The mythic Mengele was the leader of a pro-Nazi movement who lived in a heavily guarded jungle compound. The real Mengele *was* supported by his wealthy family BUT lived a hardscrabble life on the run after the capture of Adolf Eichmann.

In The Boys From Brazil, Peck-Mengele has a fancy lab at his fancy crib. Cloning was a hot topic when Levin wrote the book, so Peck-Mengele has become a master of cloning. There are multiple Hitler clones loose and it’s time for Nazis to play follow the leader again.

Mason plays one of Peck-Mengele’s fascist friends but he’s dubious about the whole cloning thing and eventually shuts down Peck-Mengele’s nefarious plans. Peck-Mengele proceeds without organizational support, which leads to his demise at the hands of one of the Young Hitlers and his Dobermans:

I chanted EAT THE NAZI as the Dobermans mauled Peck-Mengele. It’s my new mantra.

The plot is, of course, preposterous. Peck and Olivier knew it was a campy premise and they performed accordingly. Oliver spends the movie with tongue in cheek as he pursues Peck-Mengele with the able assistance of his wife played by Lilli Palmer:

That’s all the plot I’m willing to share. This feature is called pulp fiction, not pulp spoilers, after all.

The two stars only shared one scene together but they had high tea when both were filming:

This is one of the few films in which Gregory Peck played a villain. He’s terrific as well as OTT hammy. It’s as if he channeled his inner Charlton Heston.

Laurence Olivier was nominated for an Oscar for playing the Nazi hunter a few years after he played a war criminal in Marathon Man:

NO. EAT THE NAZI.

Jeremy Black was cast as the Young Hitler clone. He looked eerily like history’s worst mass murderer. It’s the one thing chilling about this movie, which is otherwise a camp fest.

EAT THE NAZI.

Someone who took this fakakta story seriously was director Franklin J. Schaffner. He was used to directing prestige dramas like The Best Man, Planet Of The Apes, Papillon, Nicholas & Alexandra, and Patton for which Schaffner won an Oscar. His stature at the time the movie was made explains its length, 125 minutes. Directors like Schaffner didn’t make movies under 2 hours. I wish he had in this case: The Boys From Brazil is at least 20 minutes too long. What can ya do?

The movie is as inaccurate as it is entertaining but the performances of Peck, Olivier, and Mason keep it grounded in some semblance of reality. Make that campy reality.

Grading Time: I give The Boys From Brazil 3 stars and an Adrastos Grade of B.

Is it safe to look at the posters? Oops, wrong Olivier movie.

We begin the poster portion of the post with the American and French long sheets:

What’s a campy Nazi sci-fi flick without a quad?

Chanting EAT THE NAZI during the scene in which Dobermans attack Peck-Mengele has made me hungry. Let’s all go to the lobby and see what they have.

I scored some popcorn but skipped the fake butter, which I believe was cloned from margarine.

Let’s case the lobby cards:

Let’s flee the Nazi eating dogs and clamber aboard the trailer:

The last word goes to Eddie Muller’s TCM colleague and frenemy, Ben Mankiewicz:

Repeat after me: EAT THE NAZI.