Stereotyped Fuhrer

Hitler, The Last 10 Days (Paramount)
How can a story so rich in dramatic incident be made into something so stillborn as this dull re-enactment of Adolf Hitler’s final days in the bunker? I’m at a loss to say, since I fought to stay awake throughout an excruciatingly boring film that sheds no insights into Hitler’s psychology. In the title role, Alec Guinness gives nothing more than a caricatured portrayal, and distinguished British and German actors and actresses fill the cardboard roles of various underlings and Hitler’s fiancee Eva Braun. Stick with Downfall starring Bruno Ganz as a properly tragic Hitler if you must watch the Fuhrer’s final days.