The Incident

I was pleasantly suprised by this made for TV murder movie.

Walter Matthau plays his part well and the storyline has enough twists and turns to keep your attention up. Added to this is that there is a strong storyline that doesn't insult the intelligence too much and has elements of realism to it (although not quite sure how German POW's managed to make it to the USA from Germany)

Worth a look 7/10

Great story, sensitive direction and superb acting from Peter Firth and Walter Mathau. Firth best known for Flipside of Dominic Hide, Rome and Spooks plays against character but is utterly convincing as a Nazi charged with the murder of a fellow POW.

Mathau as always turns in wonderful performance as the small town lawyer his style contrasting brilliantly with Firth's powerful but minimalist acting. Story raises many issues that are especially powerful in today's highly partisan political climate when we strangers living in our midst.

Watch this movie you will not be disappointed.

This is a fantastic movie about the home front during WWII. The performances by Walter Matthau and Peter Firth are outstanding. William Schallert, that wonderful character actor, is superb as well. Also, Robert Carradine does a good job in a small role. I was happy to see that this movie is available on DVD because it was originally a made for TV movie. Highly recommend. James Welch Henderson Arkansas 4/9/2021.

In the early to mid-1990s, three TV movies were made starring Walter Matthau and Harry Morgan. Each story is about the same characters and it follows them over several years during the 1940s. I saw the second, "Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore" and had no idea it was a sequel or that there was a sequel to it. However, the acting and production were so good in "Against Her Will", I decided to find the other two films, "The Incident" and "Incident in a Small Town"...and, fortunately, all three are on YouTube.

This first movie has an impressive cast of familiar faces. In addition to Matthau and Morgan, Barnard Hughes, Robert Carradine, and William Schallert are on hand to provide support.

This film is set in Colorado* during WWII and soon after the story begins, a doctor (Barnard Hughes) is beaten to death at a nearby Prisoner of War camp. A German prisoner is soon charged with his murder and Herman Cobb (Walter Matthau) is shocked when he is chosen to represent the German. After all, Cobb's own son is in Europe fighting the Nazis and Cobb has no interest in the case. But the presiding judge (Harry Morgan) is insistent...and even threatens Cobb to get him to take the case.

Soon after taking the case, it becomes obvious that the prisoner's conviction is pretty much a foregone conclusion and perhaps that is why such a small-time lawyer was 'persuaded' to take the case! But there's far, far more to the story than this...and, believe it or not, it's based on real cases which occurred during the war...cases in which German prisoners were murdering other German prisoners!

The acting in this film is simply supurb....which is what I'd expect with such a cast. Additionally, the writing and production itself clearly are stellar as well. In fact, it's so good that it's surprising it was made for TV...but not at all surprising that the film led to the sequels.

*Oddly, the film is set in the Colorado area but the sequel is in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Apparently, the Judge moved from Colorado to Maryland...though this was never explained.

Top-notch acting, excellent research, and interesting characters punctuate this intriguing story. Deftly mixing humor with personal anguish and political intrigue, the plot twists it way towards a surprising conclusion. The production values are so good, It's hard to believe that this is a made-for-TV movie. Appropriate for the entire family.