The McKenzie Break

An irish intelligence officer (Keith) has been given the unwanted task of figuring out what is going on in a british P.O.W. camp for german officers. He suspects the captives, under command of a submarine captain (Griem) are planning a major prison break, and during his investigation has several confrontations with his german counterpart. Brian Keith gives us one of his best performances opposite Helmut Griem (also memorable) in this suspenseful and highly original World War II drama. If you enjoy realistic war movies that doesn't deal with "guys on an impossible mission", you should love the underrated McKENZIE BREAK.

During the War years, many a soldier were given specific instructions concerning their duties. After the war, just as many came under the scrutiny of justice. The Nazis were grossly mistaken when those accused of atrocious war crimes against humanity sought the protection of obeying explicit or direct orders. In this film " The McKenzie Break " German navel officers in a P.O.W camp are given secret orders to help 28 submariners escape and return to duty. As such they begin causing an inordinate amount of trouble for the English guards, to the point that general Kerr (Jack Watson) is puzzled by their antics. Unable to fathom the reason, Captain Jack Connor, an intelligent officer (Brian Keith) {supurb acting} is given tactical command over the camp run by Major Perry (Ian Hendry) to ascertain the reason. While there, Connor engages in mind games with Captain Willy Schlueter (Helmut Griem) a German Submarine commander. Time is short as Schlueter must complete an underground tunnel, before Connors' amasses enough evidence to prosecute his adversary for murder or deciphers the secret codes in the letters he confiscated. When the escape is prematurely forced, both men struggle to complete their assignments. Although not on the caliber of The Great Escape, this movie nevertheless gives a stirring and dramatic performance to excite audiences and the cast renders a good account of themselves. A top notch film which has since become a military Classic. ****

An interesting war film that differs from others in a number of ways. Firstly,the plot concerns German prisoners of war held in a POW camp in Scotland planning an escape. While many films have featured Allied POWs, it's quite rare to find one that focuses on Germans held in captivity (Hardy Kruger as "The one that got away" is another example). Secondly, the Germans actually speak in German as opposed to some studio manufactured pidgin English. This adds a welcome note of authenticity so often missing from big name war movies made around the same time. The cut that I've seen on British TV was certainly subtitled. I note that another reviewer had the misfortune to watch a non-subtitled version - he has my sympathy! Another interesting point is that - in a subplot - the film has a gay German POW being persecuted and subsequently murdered by his own compatriots. Whether this actually happened and how much of the film is based on fact I'm not sure. However, the Nazi persecution of homosexuals is well-documented, but not often seen on the screen. It must have been a fairly bold move for a film made in 1970 to address this. There are some loopholes, but it remains well-acted and intriguing.

Awesome , tense warlike movie with memorable images and outstanding acting by some well-known faces . This is a splendid film that succeeds largely because of particularly nice interpretations , it deals with a daring breakout from inescapable Scottish concentration camp carried out by Nazi officers incarnated by a good star cast and magnificently realized by Lamont Johnson . It's partially based on facts adapted by William Norton from a bestselling written by Sidney Shelley titled ¨The Bowmanville break¨ . The continuous escapes have caused the British staff ordered 'putting all the rotten eggs in one basket' as the officer prisoners are reunited into a special concentration camp called McKenzie , being commanded by a hard-drinking Major Perry (Ian Hendry) who efforts to stifle riots of the wily Nazis . Irish Intelligence captain named Connor (Brian Keith) , a special troubleshooter , is sent by General Kerr (Jack Watson ) to Scotland for resolving conflicts in the problematic camp . Connor suspects astute captain Schlueter (Helmut Griem) of being the mastermind behind the scheme about a mass escape and he is supposed to stop the action . It deals with hard preparatives of a diverse group formed by Doenitz's U-boat officers and Luffwaffe air officers and soldiers mounting a dangerous getaway from a barbed-wired and strongly controlled camp . The most part of the film concerns on the elaborated process of secretly digging an underground tunnel and the last one deals with spectacular breakout and effort the approx. twenty and some escaped prisoners throughout Scotland trying to make their bid to freedom .

This exciting story contains thrills, intrigue, tension, excitement galore, entertainment and lots of fun . Suspenseful WWII drama about a concentration camp from a German point of sight , it packs exceptional plethora of prestigious actors as British as German incarnating the motley group of POWs , all of them giving good acting and support , as Helmut Griem as U-boat Squadron leader who plans the massive breakout as Ian Hendry as serious Major and of course a sensational Brian Keith whose character , an arrogant Intelligence officer is sent to foil the getaway attempts . The picture belongs to a genre that has given classics as ¨The great escape¨, ¨Stalag 17¨, ¨Escape from Colditz¨, ¨Escape from Sorbibor¨ and many others . Colorful, atmospheric cinematography by Michael Reed , Hammer Production's usual ; it is shot in Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow,Ireland ,Santa Monica, California, USA ,Turkey and photography being perfectly remastered . Excellent production design and art direction with evocative sets from concentration camp and barbwire . Rousing and lively soundtrack by Riz Ortalani . This well executed motion picture is well directed by Lamont Johnson . Rating : Two thumbs up , essential and indispensable watching , a real must see for its strong characterizations and interesting issues .

Keith and Griem fight a battle of wits and wills in this intriguing, but ultimately unsatisfying prison escape drama. Set during WWII, Griem is a Nazi Captain being held prisoner along with 600 of his men in a Scottish POW camp. When the current camp commander (Hendry) is unable to maintain control of the prisoners, gruff Irish Captain Keith is called in to suppress the men and maintain control over the camp. Unfortunately for Keith, unrest in the camp is the least of his worries. It seems that Griem's men are burrowing a huge tunnel with plans to let two dozen prisoners escape to a rendezvous with a U-Boat. Keith realizes what's happening, but opts to let the plan progress so that he can score the bigger coup of not only stopping the escape, but of capturing the U-Boat as well! What could have been a gripping, involving suspense film is marred considerably by an inexplicable decision on the part of the film-makers. About one fourth of the dialogue in the film is presented in German, but without the benefit of subtitles! It is up to the viewer to figure out what is going on based on the not-too-demonstrative body language of the German actors. This cuts the plot line off at the knees and makes for very difficult viewing for those who didn't take German 101 in high school. Obviously, one can still follow the bulk of the action without the dialogue, but the motivations of the characters is muddled horribly. Animosity towards a homosexual inmate isn't explained fully enough and one character's traitorous actions are left with the meaning behind them up in the air. The ending also leaves a lot to be desired. That said, there are some memorable scenes of tension and conflict in the film. Keith gives a solid performance, thought his accent is pathetic and wavers greatly throughout. Griem (who seems born to play an icy Nazi) is a strong adversary. The dank, muddy atmosphere only adds to the bleakness of the situation. The film was shot in Ireland and, oddly, Turkey, though it isn't immediately visible which parts were done in Turkey (or why!) Credibility is strained in a couple of spots, such as how can all the dirt from the tunnel fit where they put it and how does a POW get a pair of women's shoes and make-up (for the little show they do?) There is entertainment value here. It's just compromised by the sad decision to leave a fourth of the dialogue inaccessible to those who don't speak German.