Operation Eichmann

Low budget drama about the capture and covert extradition of Adolf Eichmann from Argentina to Israel by a team of Mossad operatives. The 1961 film was released less than a year after the operation (May 1960) and about a year before Eichmann's execution for war crimes (June 1962). The story largely follows an increasingly paranoid Eichmann as he tries to keep one step ahead of the Nazi hunters and to maintain his standing amongst expatriate Nazis (perhaps ODESSA, if such an organisation really existed) and probably would have been more interesting if the focus had been on the searchers. The film may now be best known for its casting: Eichmann, one of the most sought after Nazi war criminals and 'architect of the Holocaust' is played Werner Klemperer, who four years later became famous as the bumbling Col. Klink, commandant of a German POW camp in the improbable hit comedy "Hogan's Heroes", and Rudolf Höss, the Commandant of Auschwitz (not to be confused with Rudolf Hess, Deputy Führer who died in Spandau Prison in 1987), is portrayed by John Banner, who subsequently played Klink's jolly but incompetent subordinate Sgt. Schultz. Ironically, both Klemperer and Banner were from Jewish families. There are a number of films/documentaries about the hunt for Eichmann that came out after the trial which may be more accurate and complete (e.g. The House on Garibaldi Street (1979), The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996), The Hunt for Adolf Eichmann (1994), Operation Finale (2018)).

1961's "Operation Eichmann" served as an Allied Artists quickie to cash in on the upcoming trial of Adolf Eichmann (beating Stanley Kramer's big budget "Judgment at Nuremberg" to theaters by 9 months), who was the man in charge of the 'Jewish problem' that eventually led to over 6 million Jews being exterminated at Auschwitz, captured in Argentina in May 1960 (Dr. Josef Mengele was also targeted but proved more elusive). Perhaps his still being fairly unknown accounted for the screenplay's lack of real factual information, the first half most effective in showing Eichmann's ruthless efficiency in conducting mass murder while also punishing prisoners and bribed officials who cause dissention in the ranks. The second half falls down in its lackluster pursuit of the exiled Nazi on the run, moving from Germany to Madrid, Kuwait, and finally Argentina, his own comrades only too eager to be rid of him one way or another. The narrator is a former Auschwitz prisoner who remains a distant outline to the audience, never a fleshed out character they can identify with, unable to compete with Werner Klemperer's dynamic Eichmann, a fully committed performance that produces the surely unintended, lopsided effect of rooting for a brilliant tactician who eluded capture for 15 years (convicted and hanged for his crimes in June 1962). Joining Klemperer in the Nazi ranks is John Banner, both future veterans of HOGAN'S HEROES, a comic depiction of the war that could only have been possible during a decade climaxed by Mel Brooks and his "Springtime for Hitler" number in 1968's "The Producers." The director was outdoor action specialist R.G. Springsteen, whose only qualification for this touchy subject had to be shooting fast on the cheapest sets to strike while the iron was hot. Making his film debut in the unbilled part of Klaus is Eric Braeden, whose best known movie roles in "Colossus: The Forbin Project" and "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" preceded his longtime tenure on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, which commenced in 1980.

This little known movie deserves to be seen by a wider audience. Werner Klemperer chills the viewer to the bone with his absolutely convincing performance as the architect of the Final Solution.

Made on a low budget, the movie manages to look and feel very authentic in its recreation of the Third Reich, particularly the dreadful sequence at Auschwitz. The fear that that part of the movie made me feel was palpable. Though fairly restrained for its time, the death camp sequence was the stuff of nightmares.

The film is less successful during the last two parts of the story, but Klemperer never lets up in his complete immersion in his role. Highly recommended.

The most chilling scene is to see the SS characters of Werner Klemperer and John Banner (Four years before "Hogan's Heroes") matter of factly greeting the Jewish arrivals to the death camp. The contrast between the high comedy of their work together later on belied how easy a shift of perspective of the Third Reich could be achieved. I recommend this film just for this extremely chilling scene alone.

It's 1941. Adolf Eichmann (Werner Klemperer) is the ruthless Nazi leader who implements the final solution. As the tide of war turns, he starts cremating the victims to cover up the crime. At the end of the war, he manages to escape with a bag of jewels and Anna Kemp. He intends to lead a new worldwide Nazi organization while Israeli operatives pursue him across the globe.

I've never seen Hogan's Heroes so Klemperer is a meaningless name to me. All I can say is that his cold determination and ruthless arrogance is frightening. The first half of the movie is almost entirely pointed at his character. The second half is the chase following both sides. There is some intriguing elements although there is probably a lot of fictionalization. I'm also troubled that Eichmann is the antagonist of the story. Nevertheless, this is a compelling story with a compelling performance.