Will Tom Cruise pay for Hitler’s globe?

A rather awkward legal action is hanging over Tom Cruise's latest movie Valkyrie, which records the botched attempt to kill Adolf Hitler during World War Two. In the film, the German dictator, played by David Bamber, is often seen looking at a globe of the world. It is a near exact replica of one owned by Hitler, used by the Fuehrer to plan his U-boat attacks, and that's the problem. The real globe’s current owner, Robert Pritikin, claims that Cruise (pictured) did not get his permission to use its likeness in the film.

When Pritikin, a San Francisco advertising executive and a well-known collector of Hitler artifacts, bought the globe for $100,000 in 2007, he took the precaution of having its likeness copyrighted, fearing it might be used for propaganda purposes by neo-Nazi groups. According to the New York Post, he is now looking into enforcing his rights.

A spokesman for Pritikin said: "Tom Cruise's use of the globe's likeness without our client's permission was likely just an oversight. We're confident this will all be quickly resolved out of court."

However, there appears to be a measure of opportunism in the complaint. Adds the spokesman: "I think it would be a wonderful gesture of goodwill on Tom Cruise's part to purchase the globe along with all of the other Hitler artifacts owned by Mr. Pritikin and donate them to the Wiesenthal Center. It would be a hell of a way for Tom Cruise to save the day for United Artists and be a real-life hero."