The Night of the Generals

Warsaw, December 1942. When a prostitute is savagely murdered, German Intelligence Officer Major Grau is called to investigate. An eyewitness who caught a glimpse of the perpetrator through a crack in a door, reveals that the killer wore grey trousers with a red stripe down the side - the uniform of a Wehrmact General. Grau quickly narrows the suspects down to three men whose whereabouts on the night in question cannot be accounted for.

Having been aware of this film for many years, I finally managed to catch a rare screening of it last night on British TV. Part of my curiosity to see it was due to the sheer weight of the cast:- Omar Sharif as Major Grau, Peter O'Toole, Donald Pleasence and Charles Gray as the Generals, plus Christopher Plummer, Tom Courtenay, Philip Noiret, Gordon Jackson, John Gregson, Harry Andrews, Nigel Stock and Patrick Allen - phew! The film itself starts quite promisingly as a murder mystery and maintains the interest while based in Warsaw. It features an impressive sequence involving the flushing out of Polish Resistance fighters in the city. An interesting side-note at this point is that the armour used here appeared to be either real Tiger tanks, or pretty good replicas. This attention to detail was quite unusual for a film made in 1966. Usually, contemporary armour was used in war films of this vintage - I'm thinking particularly of 'Battle Of The Bulge', 'The Bridge At Remagen' and even 'Patton'.

However, once the scene shifts to Paris in the summer of 1944, the film starts to lose focus, meandering off on sub-plots about the Hitler assassination conspiracy and Tom Courtenay's character's love life. For long stretches Omar Sharif disappears altogether and the momentum is lost. Another distraction is the way the film jumps forward at intervals to the '60's, where we find Philip Noiret's Policeman interviewing some of the secondary characters in an attempt to solve the mystery. But by this point the killer's identity has become all too clear.

The film is by no means a total waste. It is in part an interesting study of German senior officers. The acting is good throughout, and to see stalwarts of British war films like Harry Andrews and John Gregson playing Germans is both curious and original. The script is literate, production design handsome, and the 1.78:1 presentation on ITV3 gave a tantalising glimpse of how good Henri Decae's photography would look in it's full 2.35:1 Panavision frame. But overall I was left feeling that with tighter handling regarding the killer's identity, and more emphasis on the central plot, the film could have been a far more satisfying whole.

Franco-British co-production includes a phenomenal casting as Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole stars this intense thriller set in WWII about a Nazi general who turns series-killer . A Nazi intelligence official (Omar Sharif) goes after three Nazi generals (a formidable trio formed by Peter O'Toole, Donald Pleasence, Charles Gray) who can be involved in the grisly killing of a Polish whore . Meanwhile , it happens historical facts as the Warsaw uprising and the 20th July Plot (1944) in which appears as collaborator Field Marshall Rommel (Christopher Plummer) .

This terrifying and sinister story turns out to be a big budgeted whodunit set in Nazi-occupied Poland and Paris full of big stars , thrills , emotions and too tense at times. Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif give terrific performances as maniac general and upright investigator respectively . Tom Courtenay gives the best acting as a disillusioned German Corporal and Philipe Noiret is top-notch as Police Inspector who works for both sides. The splendid cast includes Joanna Pettet who contributes the most controlled interpretation , John Gregson , Coral Browne, Gordon Jackson and the French singer-actress Juliette Greco singing a wonderful song . The best scenes result to be when general O'Toole is watching paintings have been selected and requisitioned from private collections by the Reichsmarshall Herrmann Goering , then he observes the ¨Decadent Art¨ as Touloise Lautrec (Le Divan) , Renoir (Nudes), Gauguin (On the beach) Soutine, Degas (The tub) and Vincent Van Gogh (self-portrait ) , when he suddenly bursts on real crazy.

Well adapted for the screen by Joseph Kessel from the best-seller novel by Hellmut Kirst with additional dialogue by Paul Dehn -Planet of Apes- and based on an incident written by James Hadly Chase. . Marvelous musical score by Maurice Jarre conducting the New-Philharmonic Orchestra-London . Excellent title sequence and spectacular production designed by Alexandre Trauner . Finely photographed on location in Poland and at studios De Boulogne-Paris . Glamorous and glimmer cinematography in Technicolor by extraordinary cameraman Henry Decae . This dark motion picture of epic proportions is stunningly produced (along with Sam Spiegel) and realized by Anatole Litvak (Snake pit , Sorry wrong number , Mayerling , Anastasia). This steam-roller based partially on fact has a high-rating : Better than average , though may be little slow for some tastes. Well worth watching .

"Night of the generals" is big Anglo-French production of 1966, which talks about dramatic facts in a dramatic period (World War II). Two prostitutes are assassinated (in Poland and in France respectively) by a mysterious killer. A colonel of the German army (Omar Sharif) investigates and suspects three generals -two of them (Charles Gray and Donald Pleasence) are involved in a plot to kill Hitler, the other one (Peter O'Toole) is the most crazy and dangerous-. Twenty years later the same French inspector (Philippe Noiret) who helped Sharif in the inquiry faces another case of a murdered prostitute, the crime is executed in the same way as the previous ones...

This film is excellent. With a supercast (O'Toole, Sharif, Pleasence, Gray, Courtenay, Noiret) director Anatole Litvak directs a classic, a masterpiece. This film, maybe, is not as famous and as remembered as it should be... It deserves to be rediscovered, thanks to the recent DVD release.

In 1942, in Warsaw, a Polish prostitute is murdered in a sadistic way. Major Grau (Omar Sharif), a man from German Intelligence that believes in justice, is in charge of the investigation. An eyewitness saw a German general leaving the building after a scream of the victim. A further investigation shows that three generals do not have any alibi for that night: General Tanz (Peter O'Toole), Maj. Gen. Klus Kahlenberge (Donald Pleasance) and General von Seidlitz-Gabler (Charles Gray). They three avoid a direct contact with Major Grau and become potential suspects. As far as Major Grau gets close to them, he is promoted and sent to Paris.

In 1944, in Paris, this quartet is reunited and Major Grau continues his investigation. Meanwhile, a plan for killing Hitler is plotted by his high command; a romance between Ulrike von Seydlitz-Gabler (Joanna Pettet) and Lance Cpl. Kurt Hartmann (Tom Courtenay) is happening and Insp. Morand (Phillipe Noiret) is helping Major Grau in his investigation.

The story ends in 1965, in Hamburg, with another similar crime.

The first time I watched this film, I was a teenager and I recall that I left the movie theater very impressed. Two days ago, a friend of mine saw this movie again and sent me an e-mail. I decided to watch it again, on VHS, since it has not been released on DVD in Brazil. This movie is really an excellent and very underrated European super production, having a spectacular international cast. Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, from 'Lawrence of Arabia', have another outstanding performance working together, highlighting the role of Peter O'Toole as a deranged man. It is amazing how Omar Sharif was a great actor in the 1960's. The story has war, mystery, crime, romance, drama and thriller, in right doses. Further, the character of Omar Sharif, as an ethic man who believes and pursues justice, no matter the price, is exciting. The reconstitution of the period is also fantastic, specially the scene of the madness of General Tanz in a block of Warsaw, when he burns and destroys many buildings. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): 'A Noite Dos Generais' ('The Night of the Generals')

Note: On 23 Aug 2020, I saw this film again.

An overlooked little gem that gets better with each viewing. Murder mystery set in the German Army during World War II, involving 3 generals who are suspects. Entire cast in good form; fine ensemble acting. Peter O'Toole in top form as a fanatical SS general suspected in the murders. Donald Pleasence and Charles Gray portray the other 2 generals with secrets to hide. Omar Sharif does an excellent job as the Army colonel investigating. Film set in both 1942 occupied Poland, and 1944 occupied Paris. Also neatly ties in the July, 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler, with a cameo appearance by Christopher Plummer as Field Marshal Rommel. Recreates the actual bombing of Hitler's headquarters, and the efforts by the Paris generals to unseat the SS and Gestapo. Highly recommended viewing.