"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie onMay 24, 1943 with Bonita Granville, Otto Kruger and Kent Smith reprising their film roles.
Edward Dmytryk in his biography 'It's a Hell of a Life But Not a Bad Living', states: "A friend of mine, Irving Reis, had prepared and actually started shooting a film called 'Hitler's Children', an exploitation B. Irving was rather headstrong and somewhat touchy - a bad combination in Hollywood. After a few days, he got into a fight with producer Doc Golden Robert Golden. Getting his back up, he quit the film, expecting, so he told me later, to win a quick apology and a free hand. Instead, the studio said, 'As you wish,' and asked me to take over the direction. He gave me his blessing, asking only that his name be completely removed from the film's credits. The studio was willing and I went to work. I finished on schedule, cut and dubbed it, and turned it over to the distribution department. None of us at the studio was sure of what we had."
Edward Dmytryk would later direct another Second World War propaganda picture for the same RKO studio, that film being Behind the Rising Sun.
According to Edward Dmytryk in his biography 'It's a Hell of a Life But Not a Bad Living', "A title with the word 'Hitler' in it was considered box-office poison, and the exhibitors asked Associate Producer Doc Golden See: Robert Golden and RKO to change ours. Doc was stubborn - and he was right. The film cost a little over $100,000, and, running only in England and the Western Hemisphere...grossed, by some accounts, $7,500,00."
Even though this film does not take it's title from the book that it is based on, this movie still shows a close-up of the "Education for Death" source novel and its dust-jacked (as was quite customary of Hollywood movies of the day) clearly showing the book title "Education For Death", at the beginning of this film.
Following the excellent box office returns both director Edward Dmytryk and writer Emmet Lavery were given $5,000 bonuses for their work.
For their work on this movie, scriptwriter Emmet Lavery and director Edward Dmytryk both received healthy cash bonuses as a reward for this film's success.
Made for $205,000, the film grossed $3.355 million (topping original studio grosses for King Kong, Top Hat and Little Women).
The film was started by Irving Reis, who quit after clashing with the producer. He was replaced by Edward Dmytryk.
The film's low budget shows in the scene inside the Catholic Church. It is obviously a medieval castle set redressed with an altar. This is readily apparent because there are no pews, only wooden ladder back chairs.
This film represents one of a small handful of American films which featured the word Hitler or Hitler's, and both referencing Adolf Hitler, in their titles and were ones made around the time of the Second World War. These World War II movies include Hitler's Children; Hitler's Madman aka Hitler's Hangman; Hitler--Dead or Alive; The Hitler Gang aka Hitler & co.; the documentary short, Hitler Lives; The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler; Hitler's Women aka Women in Bondage; the comic short, The Devil with Hitler and Hitler - Beast of Berlin.
This movie is considered a Second World War wartime propaganda film of the United States.
This movie was studio RKO's second-biggest box-office movie of the 1943 - 1944 financial year, just behind the Cary Grant starrer Mr. Lucky. Overall, some reports state that it is the biggest grossing movie of all time for the RKO Studios, grossing more than even Top Hat and King Kong.
This movie's lead actress Bonita Granville said that this movie was her favorite film because it was one of the rare times that she got top billing and got to play an adult character.