The Secret War of Harry Frigg

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.

The film starts in England March 1943 , when non-conformist Private Harry Frigg (Paul Newman) escapes from the guard house but he is detained again , previously he had escaped from prison dozens of times. Tunisia , April 1943 , allied generals are captured , it is a propaganda nightmare for the Allies. The generals are all one star and refuse to take orders from each other in order to scheme a getaway. Northern Italy , May 1943 , the group of American and European generals in prison at a luxurious Italian mansion . London August, 1943 , Major General (James Gregory) assigns Harry Frigg a dangerous mission as part a scheme . He is promoted to two stars Major General and ordered to get the generals out once he is trapped. Harry is parachuted to Northern Italy and imprisoned at the lush palace where are the generals . Harry is willing to escape, but then he meets a gorgeous countess (Sylva Koscina) and falls in love with her . At the beginning the generals suspect Harry Frigg of being a spy in their midst .

This is a warlike comedy with funny moments , bemusing situations and quite entertaining . Likable performance of Paul Newman as silly Private promoted general to help escape other generals from the custody of the Germans. Agreeable screenplay by Peter Stone , also producer . The screenwriter dabbles a comic battle of sexes between an illiterate Newman and a high-class countess . Wonderful Sylva Koscina as cultured countess who establishes a lovely and enjoyable relationship with Paul Newman . Top-drawer acting by secondary all cast as the generals as John Williams , Charles Gray , Andrew Duggan and Tom Bosley . Colorful cinematography in Techniscope by Russell Metty and appropriate musical score by Carlo Rustichelli .

The motion picture is professionally directed by Jack Smight , American filmmaker with a penchant for the bizarre , macabre and extravagant entertainments . He began working for television in the early 50s . After successful ¨Harper¨ also with Paul Newman , in 1966 he realized the quirky caper titled ¨Kaleidoscope¨ . His best movie resulted to be ¨No way to treat a lady¨ , a very black comedy .Being continued by more peculiarities as ¨The Illustred man ¨. It's followed by the barely-released ¨Rabbit run¨, as he went on in TV films as ¨The screaming woman¨ , ¨The longest night¨ and ¨Frankestein: the true story ¨ . After that he directed unconvincing Sci-fi , as big war movie as ¨Midway¨ and one of ¨Airport¨ series . ¨The secret war of Harry Frigg¨ is an acceptable and passable film , a rare Newman film that turned to be such conspicuous lack of success what was a flop at box office ; however , nowadays is best considered.

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.

I was pleasantly surprised by this film and its similarities with television wartime sitcoms like "Hogan's Heroes" and "Mash". Paul Newman is funny and clever while playing a role that casts him as a underachieving army soldier who ends up being the only hope for several generals who were captured and held prisoners. The supporting cast does an admirable job as well. The film is rated "R" , for what reason I haven't a clue. The movie is tame by todays rating system and contains nothing harsh or unsuitable for younger family members. It is fun and entertaining as long as it is taken lightly.

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.