The Boys from Brazil (film)
A thriller about Nazi cloning and a Nazi hunter's pursuit.
The Boys from Brazil is a 1978 science fiction thriller, a co-production between Britain and America. Franklin J. Schaffner directed the film, which stars Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier. The supporting cast includes James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Uta Hagen, Rosemary Harris, Anne Meara, Denholm Elliott, and Steve Guttenberg. It adapts Ira Levin's 1976 novel of the same name and received three Academy Award nominations.
The story follows Barry Kohler, a young man hunting Nazis, who secretly observes a meeting of the fugitive Nazi group Kameraden in Paraguay. There, former Auschwitz doctor Josef Mengele orders the assassinations of 94 low-ranking civil servants, all around age 65, across Western Europe and North America over two years. Kohler calls the famous but cynical and broke Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman in Vienna to report this, but the Kameraden discover and kill him while he is still on the phone.
With help from his sister Esther, British journalist Sidney Beynon, and Jewish-American vigilante leader David Bennett, Lieberman investigates the sudden deaths of civil servants matching the profile over the following months. He notices that each dead man had a 13-year-old son with pale skin, dark hair, and blue eyes, and that all the boys look identical. Lieberman learns the boys were illegally adopted, some arranged by imprisoned Kameraden member Frieda Maloney. She tells him an intermediary in Brazil supplied the boys and mentions that one adoptive father, American Henry Wheelock, gave her a newborn puppy in exchange for her baby.
Consulting biologist Dr. Bruckner, Lieberman learns about cloning and deduces the boys are clones of Adolf Hitler, created from a single DNA sample by Mengele. Mengele ensured their childhoods mirror Hitler's by placing them with parents resembling his abusive civil servant father Alois and doting mother Klara. The plan is for the boys to become adult Nazi leaders, and the murders of the fathers—set to occur when the boys turn 13—mirror the death of Alois Hitler. Realizing Henry Wheelock is to be killed in four days, Lieberman rushes to Pennsylvania.
The Kameraden leadership, alarmed by Lieberman's investigation and Mengele's erratic behavior, tries to stop the project. Mengele escapes, and his laboratory is destroyed by retired German colonel Eduard Sibert.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Franklin J. Schaffner
- Producer
- Martin Richards / Stanley O'Toole
- Screenplay
- Heywood Gould
- Based On
- The Boys from Brazil / by Ira Levin
- Starring
- Gregory Peck / Laurence Olivier / James Mason
- Music
- Jerry Goldsmith
- Cinematography
- Henri Decaë
- Editing
- Robert Swink
- Studio
- ITC Films / Producer Circle
- Distributor
- 20th Century-Fox / (North America) / ITC Film Distributors (United Kingdom) / Titanus (Italy)
- Released
- 6 October 1978 · United States · 1979 · 3 · 15 · United Kingdom
- Runtime
- 125 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The plot follows Barry Kohler, a young amateur Nazi hunter, who spies on a meeting of the fugitive Nazi organization Kameraden in Paraguay. At this meeting, Josef Mengele provides instructions for the assassinations of 94 civil servants in Western Europe and North America. Kohler telephones Ezra Lieberman, a famous Nazi hunter in Vienna, but is discovered and killed. Lieberman investigates the deaths of civil servants fitting a profile and discovers that all have 13-year-old sons who look identical. With the help of a biologist, Lieberman deduces that the boys are clones of Adolf Hitler, created by Mengele, who has arranged their adoptions to mimic Hitler's childhood. The murders of the fathers are designed to reflect the death of Hitler's father when Hitler was 13. Lieberman travels to Pennsylvania to warn a potential victim, but Mengele kills the father and is himself killed by the family's dogs. Lieberman recovers a list of all 94 clones but burns it, declaring the children innocent.
Reader's Guide
The film is significant as a popular adaptation of Ira Levin's best-selling novel, blending science fiction with historical horror. It features a high-caliber cast, including Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier, and was nominated for three Academy Awards. The film's premise—cloning Adolf Hitler to recreate Nazism—sparked discussion and mixed critical reception. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 72% approval rating, with critics noting its gripping pace but dubious story turns. The film's legacy includes its exploration of cloning ethics and the nature of evil, though some critics found its ending unsatisfying. The extended ending, restored in later releases, adds a darker tone. The film was cut in West Germany but later released uncut on DVD in the U.S. and Germany.
Did You Know?
- The film is based on the 1976 novel of the same title by Ira Levin.
- Gregory Peck agreed to portray Mengele only because he wanted to work with Laurence Olivier.
- The altercation between Lieberman and Mengele took about three or four days to film due to Olivier's ailing health.
- Lew Grade, who partly financed the film, was not happy with the final result, feeling the ending was too gory.
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