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The Night of the Generals
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Wikipedia article
'The Night of the Generals' is a 1967 World War II mystery film directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by Sam Spiegel. It stars Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet and Philippe Noiret. The screenplay by Joseph Kessel and Paul Dehn was loosely based on the beginning of the novel of the same name by German author Hans Hellmut Kirst. The writing credits also include the line "based on an incident written by James Hadley Chase"; a subplot from Chase's 1952 novel 'The Wary Transgressor'.p.762 Gifford, Dennis 'The British Film Catalogue' Routledge; 1st edition (April 1, 2016) Gore Vidal is said to have contributed to the screenplay, but was not credited.[http://www.cnc.fr/ CNC] The musical score was composed by Maurice Jarre.
The film was a French-British-American international co-production. Parts of this Western-made film were shot on location in Warsaw, which at the time was behind the Iron Curtain. The last scenes of the film were shot in Munich.
Plot
The murder of a prostitute, who was also a German agent, in German-occupied Warsaw in 1942 causes Major Grau of the Abwehr to start an investigation. His evidence soon points to the killer being one of three German generals: General von Seidlitz-Gabler; General Kahlenberge, his chief of staff; or General Tanz, a highly decorated officer and a favorite of Adolf Hitler. Grau's investigation is cut short by his sudden promotion and transfer to Paris at the instigation of these officers.
The case in Warsaw remains closed until all three officers meet in Paris in July 1944. Paris is then a hotbed of intrigue, with senior Wehrmacht officers plotting to assassinate Hitler and overthrow the Nazi government. Kahlenberge is deeply involved in the plot, while von Seidlitz-Gabler is aware of its existence but is sitting on the fence, awaiting the outcome, whilst having various extramarital affairs. Tanz is unaware of the plot and remains totally loyal to Hitler; at some point during the War prior, he transferred to the SS, and is a Waffen-SS General (SS-Obergruppenfhrer), in command of the SS-Panzerdivision Nibelungen, a fictitious unit that stands in for the 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend".
On the night of 19 July 1944, Tanz orders his driver, Kurt Hartmann, to procure a French prostitute; Tanz butchers her so as to implicate Hartmann, but offers Hartmann the chance to desert, which he accepts. When Grau, who is now a Lieutenant Colonel, learns of the murder, committed in the same manner as the first, he resumes his investigation and concludes that Tanz is the killer. However, his timing is unfortunate, because the very next day is the 20 July assassination attempt. While Grau is accusing Tanz face to face, word arrives that Hitler has survived, so Tanz kills Grau and labels him as one of the plot conspirators to cover his tracks.
Jumping to 1965, the murder of a prostitute in Hamburg draws the attention of Interpol Inspector Morand, who owes a debt of gratitude to Grau for not revealing his connection to the French Resistance during the war. Almost certain there is a connection to Grau's 1942 case, Morand reopens the cold case, soon finding a link to the 1944 murder as well.
Morand begins to tie up the loose ends. He finds no criminal activity from Kahlenberge or Seidlitz-Gabler. However, Morand finds a potential witness when Seidlitz-Galber mentions that he rarely sees his daughter, Ulrike, who lives in a farm near Munich. Morand confronts Tanz, recently released after serving 20 years as a war criminal, at a reunion dinner for Tanz's former panzer division. When Morand produces Hartmann, who has since married Ulrike, as his witness, Tanz goes into a vacant room and shoots himself.
Cast
* Peter O'Toole as General Wilhelm Tanz
* Omar Sharif as Major (Lt. Colonel) Grau
* Tom Courtenay as Lance Corporal Kurt Hartmann
* Donald Pleasence as General Klaus Kahlenberge
* Joanna Pettet as Ulrike von Seidlitz-Gabler
* Philippe Noiret as Inspector Morand
* Charles Gray as General Herbert von Seidlitz-Gabler
* Coral Browne as Eleonore von Seidlitz-Gabler
* John Gregson as Colonel Sandauer
* Nigel Stock as Sergeant Otto Kpke
* Christopher Plummer as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
* Juliette Grco as Juliette
* Yves Brainville as Liesowski
* Sacha Pitoff as Doctor
* Charles Millot as Wionczek
* Raymond Gerome as Colonel in War Room
* Vronique Vendell as Monique
* Pierre Mondy as Kopatski
* Elonore Hirt as Melanie
* Nicole Courcel as Raymonde
* Jenny Orleans as Otto's wife
* Grard Buhr as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg
* Michael Goodliffe as Hauser
* Gordon Jackson as Captain Gottfried Engel
* Patrick Allen as Colonel Mannheim
* Harry Andrews as General Karl-Heinrich von Stlpnagel (uncredited)
Production
Both O'Toole and Sharif were hesitant to take on their roles for this film. Feeling they owed it to producer Sam Spiegel for making them international stars in 'Lawrence of Arabia', they did so anyway.2015 Twilight Time Blu-Ray Liner Notes by Julie Kirgo. Due to their previous contracts, O'Toole's and Sharif's combined salaries were less than Donald Pleasence's.p.281 Fraser-Cavassoni, Natasha 'Sam Spiegel' Time-Warner Books U.K. February 28, 2003
Gore Vidal, one of the many writers of the script claimed he urged Spiegel to use a "new, hot director", but Spiegel chose the experienced Anatole Litvak who owned the rights to the novel.p.170 Herzberg, Bob 'The Third Reich on Screen, 1929-2015' McFarland 2016
Reception
Bosley Crowther, in an unenthusiastic review for 'The New York Times', described the movie as "a lurid and mordant screen account of the unmasking of a general officer who likes to disembowl prostitutes":
It is an engrossing exhibition that mainly gives Mr. O'Toole a chance to build up the tensions and the twitches of a sex maniac, with something of the glazed-eyed characteristic of those old vampires who used to suck blood. But once this phase is completedonce we know who the killer is and have made the obvious connection of his war crimes and his private deedsthe excitement of the picture is over. At least, it was for me.
References
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