The Secret War of Harry Frigg

Some of the movies I get to see on movie channels that play older movies are well worth the extra few dollars a month to the cable company. This was one of those movies. Not the greatest movie I've ever seen, but very entertaining, funny in a quirky way, well worth a look.

This was a fun, light comedy with Paul Newman and a number of other familiar faces (Tom Bosley, James Gregory, Jacques Roux, etc).

Newman plays a private promoted to a 2-star general in order to rescue five 1-star generals who have been captured in WWII Italy. There is a haphazard love story that is nonetheless fairly sweet, and several entertaining one-liners that make the movie very enjoyable.

Some stereotypes are a bit heavy-handed, but it's all in good fun and not really offensive to anyone, except maybe Nazis. Too bad for them...

Probably my favourite movie, although not the best I have ever seen. I'd recommend it to anyone.

I admit this is not the best thing Paul Newman has done. But it's an entertaining little comedy that is charming and quirky in its own special way. There are plenty of familiar faces, particularly if you watched lots of television in the '60's and '70's. A move that's a bit rough around the edges but still well worth watching on it's own merits.

It is an asymmetrical system of rank and organization, implying a reciprocal relationship of supremacy and subordination, similar to a pyramid. The film mocks the rigor of the army and the absurdity of its rules, successfully satirizing war and military hierarchy. The protagonist is a rebel, intolerant of discipline, who becomes a hero precisely because of his irreverence. He is a lazy, listless, and cynical antihero, forced by his mission (and by love) to grow and prove his worth.

During World War II, Private Harry Frigg (Paul Newman) is sent to Italy by General Prentiss (James Gregory) to organize the escape of several generals from the villa of Countess Francesca di Montefiore (Sylvia Koscina). The prison is organized in a reception-style manner by Colonel Ferrucci (Vito Scotti), a former hotel manager, but things change after the armistice, which transfers command to Major von Steignitz (Werner Peters) of the German army, which has transformed overnight from ally to occupier.

Director Jack Smight (6.5) films a typical 1960s Hollywood comedy, with light-hearted tones and the right balance of comic and adventurous moments; the screenplay (6.5) has a fluid pace, avoiding dramatic excesses, preferring to focus on the narrative; from a technical standpoint (6.0), the highlights are Russell Metty's cinematography with its vivid colors, the Italian (filmed in California) production design rendered with pictorial taste, and Michel Legrand's light-hearted, melodic score; among the cast (6.5), Newman, with his charisma and wit, tries to make up for his age, which is inappropriate for his character, while Koscina brings the right elegance and sensuality to her character.

Best moment: Harry tells the Germans he's not a real general, so they can loosen their controls and return that night to organize the escape, but his courage and determination are worth more than two stars. A must-see for those who love light-hearted, ironic wartime comedies.

Paul Newman as Harry Frigg is a goldbricking screw-up of a soldier who has one undeniable talent. Busting out of stockade. Seems as though the man cannot stand confinement.

That talent is put to good use by General James Gregory to affect the escape of five Allied Brigadier Generals who were captured in a Turkish bath in Tunis. Two British, two American, and one Free French general. The biggest Italian victory since the seizure of Albania.

Since these five guys seem willing to sit out the war in an Italian prison camp and being of equal rank can't get together on a plan of action, the idea Gregory has is to send in an escape specialist, the best the United States Army has, with the rank of a two star general and get an escape organized. Of course it's Paul Newman.

Of course when Newman is dropped into Italy and put in that prison camp for generals only, he finds it quite unlike any stockade he's ever been in. Prison as run by Colonel Vito Scotti a former hotel manager in Genoa. All the luxury of a Club Med vacation and for Newman, the attraction of Countess Sylva Koscina whose palace is being used for this prison camp for generals.

During the course of the film, the Allies have taken Sicily, and land in Salerno and Italy switches sides. The Nazis come and prove to be a gang of real party poopers.

The Secret War of Harry Frigg is a mildly amusing comedy. Paul Newman does the best he can with it, though he's not really cast well in this part. The premise is unusual however and my favorite performance is here is that of Vito Scotti. Man really knew how to be a good jailer.

Curiously enough some of the same premise involving Italy's deposing Mussolini and switching sides was the basis for another film about allied prisoners, Von Ryan's Escape. Of course that one involved far more prisoners and had a lot less laughs.

Paul Newman never really had a big comedy triumph until he made Slapshot. But this one while not great, is droll and amusing in its own way.