Tom Cruise and Valkyrie just cannot stay out of the press -- and alas, the press has rarely been good. Well, here comes a bit more controversy: There have now been claims from German press that United Artists doctored a photo of hopeful Hitler assassin, Claus von Stauffenberg. In the interests of historic representation, journalistic credibility, and a chance to see how weird Cruise's career can get, Slate took the above photo (released by United Artists) to their design experts. Visit the magazine to see the details of their analysis -- but they have come to the conclusion that it has been doctored. A comparison with a AP file photo of von Stauffenberg is remarkably different than the one UA has been publicizing. It seems to be the same photo, but that too could be up for debate. Possibly, UA is guilty of nothing more than carefully choosing a flattering photo. Other photos of von Stauffenberg, which are from the front and better lit, don't have much of a resemblance to Cruise.

Visit Slate to judge for yourself, then come back and tell us your take. If it has been doctored, how silly is that? Plenty of historical figures have been ably played by actors bearing little resemblance to them -- and perhaps even the better for it, as they didn't rely only on physical looks to carry the role. The whole story smells of insecurity on the part of someone (or everyone) at United Artists. Though, for now (or until more experts weigh in), we'll just chalk this up as another piece of fascinating Hollywood mystery.

[via IMDB's Hitlist]