Asked about his approach to the role, Guinness is quoted as saying:"I suppose the only attitude I have is one of reasonable objectivity -- at least, as objective as one can get when playing such a man. You might say I play him with a touch of irony, but certainly not with any deliberate emphasis. I do know that Hitler will not be caricatured in this picture. There is nothing funny about him though some people in Britian now seem to find elements of humour about him. In the first shots I don't have the lock across my forhead. I don't want the audience to start out by saying 'There he is, old Hitler.' I am going to try to be objective in creating the man as he was at that time."

From Focus On Film - 1972