The Night of the Generals (1967)

Good concept, poorly executed.

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I have to admit to having high hopes for "Night of the Generals." My previous viewing experience was 20 years ago when my brother rented the video. Alas, my expectations were only half met. The film suffers from a rather clumsy narrative as it keeps shifting from The Second World War to what was then modern day 1966. I found the constant shift in emphasis to be irksome as the film didn't seem to know which setting it was focusing on. In addition, the story about a German officer who investigates the murder of a prostitute in Nazi occupied Poland, took a backseat to what was really a general look at army life amongst the Nazis. Peter O' Toole doesn't really take centre stage as he should have done. He is out of the film for many minutes at a time and that disappointed me. The same applies to Omar Sharif as the officer investigating the murder. Luckily, the film does maintain my attention and interest, thanks to a brilliant supporting cast. We have Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Charles Gray, John Gregson, Harry Andrews, Christopher Plummer and others. Peter O' Toole - when he is in the film - gives an outstanding performance as the cold and ruthless killer in "Night of the Generals." His blue eyes look almost piercing. Not the classic I was expecting but still good.

At surface level it would be easy to dismiss 'Night Of The Generals' because from a purely cinematic perspective it has a lot of flaws:* Some rather stilted direction from Anatole Litvak * Flashbacks awkwardly and randomly inserted * Distraction of German characters speaking with a variety of non-German accents (including Gordon Jackson in his traditional Scottish accent!) * Unnecessary scenes (such as Christopher Plummer's cameo as Rommel) that could've easily been excisedBut on a broader level, NOTG is quite a fascinating film. Its observations on the importance of pursuing criminal acts even in wartime, how even those who commit heinous acts in wartime will be forgiven if they live long enough and the impact on individuals and general society WW2 even a generation onwards are quite profound.In a funny way, if NOTG had been a slicker, smoother film it might have been less effective. It's so ambitious in the territory it covers and how it covers it that you genuinely don't know where the film will go next. As a result, the scene where Colonel Grau is murdered comes out of the blue and is genuinely shocking like few deaths I can recall seeing in a film.To be sure, 'Night Of The Generals' is a far from perfect film. But in terms of a commentary on WW2 and its ramifications, its one of the best I've seen.

It's 1942 Warsaw. A Polish prostitute is sadistically murdered. She was a German agent and German Intelligence Major Grau (Omar Sharif) investigates. A witness saw a General's uniform. He zeroes in on General von Seydlitz-Gabler (Charles Gray), his chief of staff General Kahlenberg (Donald Pleasence) and General Tanz (Peter O'Toole). Grau is promoted away to Paris by General Kahlenberg. All four are reunited in 1944 Paris as an assassination attempt takes place against Hitler. In 1965, Interpol Inspector Morand reopens the case trying to piece together the clues. The movie switches back and forth between the two periods.It's an old fashion crime mystery in the times of war. It's a little hard to get involved. Normally the story would just follow Grau and the audience can solve the case alongside him. This one follows everybody because of its structure. It meanders. I keep waiting for the story to get back to the murder mystery as the movie follows the generals in their war. I wish the movie keeps it more like a police investigation and maintain a higher level of tension. It should be constantly reminding the audience of the brutal murder. If they want to make a movie about Valkyrie, they could do the real story.

This film is certainly a bit of an oddity which somehow managed to stay under my radar for years despite my being a fan of half the cast and a devotee of axis-focused WW2 films. It's strange that in the 1960's a film would pop up with the courage to tell a story set in Nazi Germany which stays politically neutral throughout, focusing more on a whodunit style plot where an investigating sympathetic German officer (Omar Sharif in an odd bit of casting) tries to find out which German General is murdering prostitutes.The bright spot in this picture (as with most bigger budget English WW2 films) is the acting, particularly the tour-de-force performance from Peter O'Toole as the unemotional yet power-crazed high ranking and universally reviled General Tanz. He gracefully glides through the film, and even though the years of alcohol abuse had certainly begun to take their toll on his boyish looks, it fits his character perfectly. I cannot imagine anyone else pulling it off like he did, save for perhaps Helmut Berger who essentially made a career out of aping O'Toole's performance in this film.Also look out for Harry Andrews and Christopher Plummer in cameo roles. Donald Pleasence also shines as a twitchy staff officer who is among the suspects along with O'Toole and that guy who played Blofeld in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. It's funny to see the two Blofelds working together. The film has rather impressive production values for the time including a few action scenes involving partisan suppression in the streets of Warsaw (complete with some shockingly convincing Tiger Tank mock-ups) and recreation of historical events like the 20 July Plot to kill Hitler and surrounding conspiracy.What makes this film so unique is its (and Omar Sharif's) focus on a small-seeming stakes of solving a murder against the large-seeming backdrops of World War 2, the destruction of Warsaw, and the plot to kill Hitler. By and large, this disconnect actually works very well and leads to some delightfully awkward situations which Sharif handles with a smile, undeterred from his quest for justice. A truly delightful film if one can overlook the rather sloppy wrap-up.