Memorable, crazy movie

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Blistering performances.

Narrated by William L. Shirer. A Columbia Picture. Copyright 27 September 1951 by Columbia Pictures Corp. New York opening at the Criterion: 30 September 1951. U.S. release: September 1951. U.K release: 31 March 1952. Australian release: 27 June 1952. 92 minutes. The full-length 92-minutes version was released only in Australia. In the U.K. and the U.S.A., the movie was cut by 4 minutes, eliminating the Neville Chamberlain sequence.SYNOPSIS: William L. Shirer, foreign correspondent, is told the following story by a strange woman (Mrs Janus). Janus the Great, a brilliant impersonator, was once the most popular man on the Viennese stage; when the Nazis took over Austria, his wife left him to live with the Fuehrer, and he was sent to a concentration camp. He escaped in disguise, tricked his way into Hitler's service as a valet, killed the dictator and took his place; as the false Hitler, he purposely — by insisting on unwise military and political decisions — led Germany to defeat. In the hour of final defeat, in an underground shelter in Berlin, he revealed his true identity to his faithless wife and escaped to resume his old identity. (Hitler's body was never found).COMMENT: A really weird movie. Independently made in Austria by Mort Briskin and Robert Smith, it was picked up for distribution by Columbia as an exploitation item. Those expecting the real dirt on Hitler were doubtless disappointed, but people like myself looking for a way- out, unusual or preposterous entertainment found this "historical" ratbaggery amusingly off-beat.With its larger-than-life performances, its candidly goofy impersonation plot, its victim-of-the-blacklist director, and even in its somewhat amateurish technical deficiencies such as the jarring juxtaposition of studio and obvious newsreel footage, "The Magic Face" has all the qualities required of a first-class cult movie. I can only wonder why it has never been taken up by the corduroy set and reaped a financial bonanza for its present copyright owners around university campuses.

**Minor Spoilers**Much like the hilarious 1942 Hollywood propaganda laugh riot "Hitler Dead or Alive" in the case of "The Magic Face" it's author William L. Shirer who wrote "Berlin Diary" and "The Rise and fall of the Third Reich" that gives the mind numbing film some kind of credibility. That in the fact that Hitler's body was never recovered that lead to rumors that he may have well escaped from Berlin back in April 1945 before the Soviet Red Army captured the bombed out city. In here we have German impressionist Rudi Janus, Luther Adler, after studying and perfecting Hitler's voice and mannerisms becomes Hitler's butler and kills the unsuspecting German Fuhrer, with a glass of spiked milk, and then take over his identity! As well as his conducting the war which at the time Hitler was winning and turns the table on him as well as his beloved Nazi Germany with his lame brain military strategy.We see through a number of WWII newsreels how Janus purposely causes the mighty German Army to lose almost every battle it was involved in that has soon his general staff feel that the Fuhrer is either suffering from dementia or is working for the other side: The allied side. With his-Rudi's- widowed wife Vera and now Hitler's lover, no not Ava Braun,Mariana played by blond bombshell Patricia Knight electing to stay with her beloved Fuhrer in his bunker until the end comes she's shocked to find out that the Fuhrer is in fact her former husband, whom she thought was killed in a bombing raid, Rudi Janus and completely freaks out. As for Rudi he takes it all in stride as we last see him disappear into the night and the bombed out streets of Berlin never to be seen or heard from again.Was it true that Rudi Janus is one of the most unknown and unsung heroes of WWII who single handled and all by himself not only killed Adolf Hitler but in taking over his leadership of the Third Reich helped the allies win the war against Nazi Germany like William L. Shirer seems to suggests? The fact that he as well as his wife of one day Eva Braun's bodies were never found gives this movie far more credit that it should have. It wasn't until 1956 11 years after the end of WWII that Hitler was officially declared dead by the British and world courts and even the fact that the Soviet Union claimed to have parts of Hitler's skull and lower jaw in the Kermlin archives have been proved false due to DNA examinations that proved that they really belonged to a middle aged woman. As for the star of the movie-Not Hitler- actor Luther Adler he was so convincing in the part that he revived his role as Adolf Hitler some two months later in the movie "The Desart Fox" as well some ten years later in the "Twilight Zone" episode "Man in a Bottle".

IMDb is a great bible for discovering unknown B movies, like this Magic Face, never seen in France. Thanks to the reviewers, I was excited for seeing this incredible version of the story of WWII, and I wasn't disappointed, it even explains some German mistakes. One of the writer is Mort Briskin, who has written The Second Woman and A Man Alone, mostly TV products and his two absolutely strong thrillers with Joe Don Baker directed by Phil Karlson, Framed and Walking Tall. The other writer is Robert Smith who has written great titles like I Walk Alone, Sudden Fear, Quicksand, 99 River Street and who also wrote The Second Woman with Mort Briskin. And the director is Frank Tuttle, no need to tell what great noir movies he directed. The three make a very fine team for creating a war movie treated on a noir style.I just wonder why this very surprising gem hasn't ever been released, this incredible story deserves to be a cult B classic.

I'm in my 70's. I saw this movie once somewhere when I was very young, maybe 20 - 25 years old. I searched for years to get the name of the movie until finally a movie reviewer in New York City identified it for me. I have searched at least another 10 0r 15 years to find some way to see it again. Finally, I got to watch it on my computer screen in 7 jerky parts on YouTube. It was still fascinating. One of the reviewers said he was able to buy a copy. Does anyone know where one can buy a copy in VHS or DVD? I have described this movie to dozens of people. Some of them in the film business but none have been able to come up with a copy. Does anyone know why this movie is being denied to the public? Or better question, where I can buy a copy?