Kerrigan's plot summary above misses the point. I suppose since the code of gentlemen hunters is so ignored these days that even a "conservative" Governor Tim Pawlenty leaves a deer he shot to die in the woods so he can make a rubber chicken political lunch, one must understand this.
But the point is precisely that Thorndike was making a stalk just as he told his interrogator, not attempting to assassinate Hitler. The challenge was being able to do it. Pulling the trigger was superfluous. The gun only went off because Thorndike got tackled by the SS men while sighting in with a round in the chamber.
There seems no indication here of the fine Fritz Lang film in which George Sanders played a deliciously civilized monster Nazi interrogator and Walter Pidgeon played Thorndike.
While it is always fun watching Peter O'Toole writhing in agony in another over the top performance... you might want to take a look at Man Hunt.
But the point is precisely that Thorndike was making a stalk just as he told his interrogator, not attempting to assassinate Hitler. The challenge was being able to do it. Pulling the trigger was superfluous. The gun only went off because Thorndike got tackled by the SS men while sighting in with a round in the chamber.
There seems no indication here of the fine Fritz Lang film in which George Sanders played a deliciously civilized monster Nazi interrogator and Walter Pidgeon played Thorndike.
While it is always fun watching Peter O'Toole writhing in agony in another over the top performance... you might want to take a look at Man Hunt.