Yes, we all felt sorry for the 12 year old boy who had been brainwashed by the Nazis. And yes, we must try to take a humanistic view of how to rehabilitate him back into American society. That being said, I fear the reality of his behavior would have gotten him a lot more than just a beating from the neighborhood kids. Would you jeopardize your family members to rehabilitate him;? I know I wouldn't. And neither would any of my old friends from my old neighborhood, with the possible exception of Marty, who had similar views to those of the young boy.
No, in our neighborhood, he would have been beaten on a DAILY basis, until he was either in the hospital or sent back to Germany. The kids in our neighborhood were not as genteel as these suburb cupcakes. Skip Homeier gives an excellent performance as Emil, the little nazi boy. Frederic March and Agnes Moorehead give credible performances as well, but ultimately, the situation is purely for stage and Hollywood, because in Jersey City, he would have wound up in a plastic bag.
No, in our neighborhood, he would have been beaten on a DAILY basis, until he was either in the hospital or sent back to Germany. The kids in our neighborhood were not as genteel as these suburb cupcakes. Skip Homeier gives an excellent performance as Emil, the little nazi boy. Frederic March and Agnes Moorehead give credible performances as well, but ultimately, the situation is purely for stage and Hollywood, because in Jersey City, he would have wound up in a plastic bag.