Production has begun in Budapest on Killing Hitler, a historical action thriller that will mark Dylan Douglas’ first feature-film role.

The son of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones stars alongside David Arquette in a dramatization of an alleged scheme involving Jewish-American gangsters and a plan to kill Adolf Hitler shortly after he became German chancellor in 1933.

According to Deadline, cameras began rolling in the Hungarian capital on July 13. Douglas, 25, previously appeared in two short films, but Killing Hitler represents his first major role in a feature-length production.

The film is directed by Danny A. Abeckaser, who also appears onscreen as notorious mob figure Meyer Lansky. David Arquette, Harry Goodwins, Greg Finley, Graham Sibley and Lorenzo Antonucci are among the other confirmed cast members.

One character across two periods

The story is told through the central character of Ben, played in his younger years by Dylan Douglas and later in life by David Arquette.

The film’s official logline follows two notorious Jewish-American gangsters who devise a plan to assassinate Hitler in Berlin, only to face intervention from American federal investigators attempting to prevent them from altering the course of history.

Abeckaser plays Meyer Lansky, with Greg Finley portraying Bugsy Siegel and Lorenzo Antonucci appearing as Lucky Luciano. The supporting cast also includes Eli Massillon, Stephen Huszar, Jeremy Luke, Gary Pestone, Sharon Azrieli, Aki Avni and Alexis Ephron.

Abeckaser has repeatedly returned to the world of organized crime throughout his career. As an actor, he appeared in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman and The Wolf of Wall Street, while his directing credits include Mob Town and Inside Man. Killing Hitler is produced by Abeckaser and Sagi Wolf through 2B Films.

The filmmaker told Deadline that he had wanted to bring the story to the screen for years after discovering the historical article on which the screenplay is based. He later acquired the rights and said Douglas’ audition convinced him that the young actor was the right choice for Ben.

How an alleged plot reached the screen
 

The project draws on historian Robert Rockaway’s article The Jewish Plot to Kill Hitler, which traces the story through both personal testimony and documents held in the American federal archives.

Rockaway first heard about the alleged scheme from Abe “Dutch” Goldberg, a former gangster he interviewed while researching Jewish organized crime in the United States. Goldberg claimed that he had been approached in 1933 about finding Yiddish-speaking gunmen willing to travel to Germany and kill Hitler.

According to his account, several underworld figures were interested, but the proposal was abandoned when federal agents began asking questions.

Rockaway initially doubted the story. During later research in Washington, however, he discovered file 65-53615, which contained reports and correspondence relating to a possible attempt by American Jews to assassinate Hitler in 1933.

The investigation began after the German ambassador received a letter signed by someone calling himself Daniel Stern. Its author threatened to travel to Germany and kill Hitler unless President Franklin D. Roosevelt publicly condemned the persecution of German Jews. The matter was referred to the US Justice Department and the federal agency that would later become the FBI.

Where the record ends and the film begins

The archival record does not conclusively establish that an operational assassination plot existed. Federal agents searched for Stern and investigated leads in several American cities, but they were unable to identify him or uncover definite evidence of a plan ready to be carried out. The case was closed in September 1933 without a clear resolution.

Killing Hitler therefore approaches the material as a historical action thriller rather than a documentary reconstruction. Its screenplay expands the surviving testimony, correspondence and investigative reports into a gangster narrative involving Lansky, Siegel and the conflict between the underworld and federal law enforcement.

That distinction is especially relevant because the film’s official premise presents the plot more definitively than Rockaway’s account, which openly acknowledges the gaps and contradictions in the evidence. The surviving file confirms that the American government investigated threats against Hitler, but the scale and seriousness of the wider conspiracy remain uncertain.

Budapest sets the stage

The producers have so far confirmed only that filming is underway in Budapest. No Hungarian studio, local production partner or specific shooting location has been announced, and it remains unclear which parts of the capital will appear as 1930s Europe in the finished film.

A release date and distributor have also yet to be revealed. For now, Killing Hitler adds another international period production to Budapest’s active filming slate while launching Dylan Douglas’ feature career through an unusual intersection of Hollywood lineage, gangster cinema and unresolved history.

Source: Budapest Reporter - republished with permission

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