There are some movies that once you hear the title of you
know you have to take a look. Most tend to be in the low budget category and
still have a certain charm. I mean haven’t we all had a chance to see THEY
SAVED HITLER’S BRAIN? But now we have a new movie and Hitler makes an
appearance once again. That movie is THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE
BIGFOOT. I mean come on, Hitler, Nazis AND Bigfoot? How can it lose? The fact
is it’s actually a pretty good movie.
Sam Elliott stars as Calvin Barr, the main character from
the title. Older and living alone he does little but read and hit the local
bar. After leaving their one night three goons attack him attempting to steal
his car and money. Big mistake on their part as even while slightly inebriated
he takes them all out.
The film fluctuates between past and present as we learn
about Calvin leaving for war during WWII and that causing him to lose the love
of his life. In the past he trains and is given the assignment discussed in the
title. We learn that there were several impersonators posing as Hitler but the
job Calvin was given was the real leader. And in spite of the good this did
when it came to saving the world it still troubles him after all these years.
The only person Calvin talks to these days is his now grown
little brother Ed (Larry Miller). The two aren’t as close as they would like
but Ed did leave a lasting impression on Calvin. Before heading off to war Ed
gave him his most treasured possession to take with him, a tiny toy dinosaur.
Now the two talk infrequently, more often than not when Ed, a barber, is
cutting Calvin’s hair.
Calvin’s life changes when two government agents show up at
his door. The government is in need of his tracking capabilities once again. It
seems the legendary Bigfoot is roaming the mountains in Canada and is real.
Worse yet the creature is carrying a disease that could wipe out most of the
world. Only a few people have a natural resistance to this disease and Calvin
is one of those. For God and country they want him to take up a weapon and take
out the Bigfoot.
All of this sounds like your typical grade Z movie plot but
it’s more than that. The film isn’t just about the hunts and kills that Calvin
does but the effects they have on him. Having looked into the eyes of Hitler
before killing him he’s always been troubled by the moral question of what he
did. It’s sort of the question posed many times now by people, if you could go
back in time and kill Hitler and prevent the world from experiencing what it
did, would you be able to do so? Calvin did and it’s weighed heavy on his
shoulders ever since.
The same holds true for his hunt for Bigfoot which actually
takes up less time in the film than the rest. Who gets to determine if this
creature gets to live or not? Is it nature’s way of balancing the scales with
this disease? What right does Calvin have to remove this creature from the
Earth?
Director/writer Robert Kryzkowski molds the story into one
of reflection and introspection rather than what could have become a simple
drive-in style film. This is his first feature film and yet it’s a quality
production all the way. Be it inner city locations like the bar during the
opening sequence or the panoramic views in the mountains the film looks great.
But it’s not just the director that makes this film. Elliott
turns in another great performance as well. Sure he was nominated for an Oscar
for A STAR IS BORN this year and turned in an amazing performance the previous
year in THE HERO but he shows just how capable he is by turning this movie into
something more than one would expect. In lesser hands this film could have
become yet another Golden Turkey Award winner. Elliott takes the role and makes
it more than you would expect from the title. That’s true talent.
In the end the movie may not have been nominated for any
awards and probably only played in a few theaters across the country. But that
doesn’t mean it wasn’t any good. It’s an entertaining film with depth of
character that moves along slowly at times but tells a complete story before
the end credits role. It’s one of those movies that can be rediscovered by
checking it out on disc. I know it’s one I’ll watch again in the future.
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