<p> Milwaukee raconteur Lars Kvam is, among other things, an avid connoisseur of bad moviesthe forgotten (or never noticed) oddities that have surfaced in recent years on DVD. He was kind enough to send me two of his favorite bad World War II movies, both shot while the Axis remained undefeated and released on DVD by Alpha Video. </p> <p>The first, <em>Hitler: Dead or Alive </em>(1942), was directed by Nick Grinde, a graduate of UW-Madison who toiled in Hollywood for many years. Although it doesn't deserve to be called <em>Plan 9 From Planet Earth</em>, <em>Dead or Alive</em> can be mentioned among the campiest low budget romps in cinema history. Grinde adopted the conventions of gangster and hardboiled reporter flicks for its plotliterally the plot of gangsters hired by an American millionaire to kidnap “the little man with the trick mustache.” As one of the perpetrators puts it, “the guy's nothing but another mobster. He can be hadjust like any other big shot.” As to their qualifications, “We used to run a beer racket in Milwaukeewe'll do alright.” </p> <p>“Donner vetter!” as the movie's bumbling Krauts exclaim. Of course, the Nazi commander “has ways”make that “vays.” It would be fascinating to know what Grinde had in mind: Was he really serious or was this an attempt to inject a little levity on the home front while the war hung in balance? Then again, maybe the preposterousness might have been prophetic. Did the creators of “Hogan's Heroes” crib from <em>Dead or Alive </em>20 years later? </p> <p>The second film, <em>Enemy of Women</em> (1944), falls within the ordinary range of 1940s B pictures. Although American born, director Alfred Zeisler made movies in Germany at the eve of the Nazi takeover and obviously had a grip on his subject. The film follows the career of Nazi Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels, “the greatest scoundrel of our time” as the opening credits call him, and is well structured. At the onset, Dr. Goebbels visits the site of an Allied air raid; sitting on an ornate chair amid the rubble of a house triggers a long flashback of his life, starting with his early days as a failed playwright whose sexually frustrations were sublimated by his embrace of the Nazi movement. <em>Enemy of Women</em> nails a great many things with precision, including Goebbels predatory sexuality, intimidation of the press and the tone of his propaganda campaigns. The actor playing Goebbels (Paul Andor) even resembles the man. </p> <p><em>Enemy of Women</em> is no <em>Casablanca</em>, and its competent cast lacks the charisma of the era's Hollywood stars, yet the screenplay knows of what it speaks. </p>
