{"id":8168,"date":"2024-11-11T23:51:05","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T04:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=8168"},"modified":"2024-11-11T23:51:05","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T04:51:05","slug":"the-night-of-the-generals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/11\/11\/the-night-of-the-generals\/","title":{"rendered":"The Night of the Generals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Night of the Generals <\/strong>(1967)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Columbia\/Suspense-Thriller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 145 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (violence including gunplay, suggested sex, some language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Anatole Litvak\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Joseph Kessel and Paul Dehn\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Maurice Jarre\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Henri Decae\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: February 24, 1967 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasance, Joanna Pettet, Phillippe Noiret, Charles Gray, Coral Browne, John Gregson, Nigel Stock, Christopher Plummer, Juliette Greco, Yves Brainville, Sacha Pitoeff, Charles Millot.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: N\/A<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ****<\/p>\n

\u00a0I never heard of The Night of the Generals<\/strong> until I happened across it about ten years ago. I was intrigued by the premise and a stellar cast headed by Peter O\u2019Toole (The Lion in Winter), one of my favorite actors of all time. He plays a German general caught up in a murder investigation after a prostitute is found brutally slain. His character, General Tanz, is one of the most chilling ever committed to film. It\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve ever seen O\u2019Toole play a villain and like everything else he does, he does it brilliantly.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Directed by Anatole Litvak (Anastasia), the WWII-set The Night of the Generals <\/strong>is a story told in three parts with the third serving as the Citizen Kane-like framing device. It begins with the discovery of the prostitute\u2019s butchered body in a seedy Warsaw apartment building. It turns out she was also a German agent. The crime necessitates the involvement of German military intelligence. The agent in charge of the investigation, Major Grau (Sharif, Doctor Zhivago), learns from a witness that the killer wore trousers bearing the insignia of a general. With only that to go on, Grau narrows down the suspect pool to three German generals whose whereabouts on the night in question can\u2019t be accounted for: Von Seidlitz-Gabler (Gray, Diamonds Are Forever), Kahlenberge (Pleasance, You Only Live Twice) and Tanz. When he attempts to question the powerful men, he\u2019s quickly transferred to Paris effectively putting an end to his investigation…. for now.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Two years later, Grau gets a second shot at solving the crime when all three generals meet again in Paris. There\u2019s a lot more at stake this time with Von Seidlitz-Gabler and Kahlenberge being actively involved in the plot to kill Hitler at his Wolf\u2019s Lair headquarters in former East Prussia. Tanz knows nothing about it. When he arrives in Paris ahead of schedule, his colleagues arrange for young Corporal Hartmann (Courtenay, Doctor Zhivago) to show him the sights of the French city and secretly report any unusual behavior back to them. Indeed, another prostitute is murdered in the exact same fashion, but Grau\u2019s investigation is marginalized by the attempt on Hitler\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\u00a0We learn of the aforementioned events by way of Interpol agent Morand\u2019s (Noiret, Cinema Paradiso) questioning of people who were present. Twenty years later, he\u2019s picking up where Grau left off. The murder of another prostitute, this time in Hamburg, bears the same MO as the previous killings. He\u2019s determined to identify the killer and bring him to justice.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Night of the Generals <\/strong>is a well-crafted suspense-thriller combined with a compelling account of a real-life historical event. The conspiracy to eliminate the Fuhrer was allegedly masterminded by General Rommel played here by Christopher Plummer, a long way off from The Sound of Music. Litvak successfully weaves fictional characters into the fact-based account of \u201cOperation Valkyrie\u201d to create one hell of a murder mystery. What\u2019s most interesting is how it deviates from formula when it comes to revealing the identity of the killer. Instead of a big reveal at the end with the detective character explaining the who, how and why, the pieces of the mystery gradually unfold leading to the identity of the killer who could be any one of three based on their suspicious behavior. They\u2019re all guilty of something, but what exactly? This slow build-up enhances both the story\u2019s suspense level and the viewer\u2019s unease as certain facts and behaviors come to light.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The top performance in The Night of the Generals <\/strong>comes from O’Toole as the evil, cold-hearted Nazi officer with a mile-wide cruel streak. He\u2019s a human monster who thinks nothing of destroying an entire section of Warsaw in search of Resistance members. He doesn\u2019t even flinch when the soldier next to him is shot dead. He\u2019s the archetypical Aryan superman with his cool demeanor, tall physique, blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. One of the most chilling scenes is when he gazes at a Van Gogh self portrait in a hidden room with restricted access at a Paris museum. We\u2019re never told what\u2019s going through his head at that particular moment, but it clearly triggers something dark and disturbing deep within his troubled psyche.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Gray and Pleasance, actors I automatically associate with The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the original Halloween respectively, are both equally terrific. Grays\u2019 character is a meticulous sort who keeps a written record of every word spoken in his office. Pleasance, his chief of staff, isn\u2019t entirely on board with his boss\u2019 ideology. Sharif delivers a nuanced performance as the intelligence officer with a two-fold reason for wanting to solve the case: (1) the moral implications of murder regardless of who committed it and (2) his implied disdain for the aristocratic officer class.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Courtenay delivers a fine performance as Hartmann, a classically trained pianist ordered to escort Tanz in an odyssey that turns dark when the general shows his true nature. He\u2019s not thrilled with his assignment because it prevents him from meeting up with his lover Ulrike (Pettet, Casino Royale), the daughter of Gray\u2019s character. He\u2019s the epitome of humanity, a quality not encompassed by the Nazi party. Naturally, he\u2019s the one who might have to take the fall for the murders.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Nearly every frame of The Night of the Generals <\/strong>is perfect including the opening credits sequence designed by Robert Brownjohn (From Russia with Love). He uses Nazi iconography, specifically that with relates to an officer\u2019s uniform, to great effect. He uses a minimum of color which maximizes the effect of the inclusion of a red light bulb swinging on its cord until it pops. Obviously, it symbolizes the simmering blood lust that the killer can no longer contain. When it finally shatters, it\u2019s representative of the killer giving himself over to the darkness consuming him.<\/p>\n

\u00a0What’s great about The Night of the Generals <\/strong>is that it’s not hard to follow, although it helps to have some knowledge of WWII and the insidiousness of the Nazis. Its narrative structure could just as easily render the whole thing convoluted, but it doesn\u2019t thanks to a tightly written screenplay by Joseph Kessel and Paul Dehn and tighter direction by Litvak. It sets itself apart from other WWII-themed by telling its story from the perspective of the enemy rather than the \u201cgood guys\u201d- i.e. the Americans and\/or the British. It clouds the moral waters and forces the viewer to carefully consider each character\u2019s actions. Every scene is perfectly done from members of the Resistance firing at the military vehicles arriving at the scene of the first murder to a raid on a French bar where members of the Resistance might be hiding. The illicit romance between Hartmann and Ulrike is also well-handled. Circumstances like her disapproving mother (Brown, The Ruling Cass) keep them apart for most of the movie. In an ironic twist, she wants to set her up with Tanz who has absolutely no interest in the girl. He\u2019s as cold as they come. I know I keep coming back to O\u2019Toole, but his character intrigues me to no end. Of course, watching an actor of his caliber at work in any movie is a treat in and of itself.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In any event, The Night of the Generals <\/strong>is sure to hold your interest from beginning to end. It\u2019s a suspense-thriller with actual suspense and genuine thrills. It has an exceptional cast of actors hired for their talent rather than their looks. Litvak is less concerned with putting attractive performers in key roles than putting the right ones in the right roles. Sadly, that\u2019s not the way it\u2019s done today. With old movies being remade left and right these days, let\u2019s hope they leave The Night of the Generals<\/strong> alone. It\u2019s fine the way it is.\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Night of the Generals (1967)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Columbia\/Suspense-Thriller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 145 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (violence including gunplay, suggested sex, some language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Anatole Litvak\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Joseph Kessel and Paul Dehn\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Maurice Jarre\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Henri Decae\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: February 24, 1967 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasance, Joanna Pettet, Phillippe Noiret, Charles Gray, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8356,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hidden-treasures","category-suspense-thrillers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/The-Night-of-the-Generals-P.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8168"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8358,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8168\/revisions\/8358"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}