Private Schulz

I have fond memories of this series and wish it would be released on DVD. It was my first experience of the great Ian Richardson and the amazing Billie Whitelaw. Michael Elphick was perfect as the bungling loser of the title role, but he was effortlessly upstaged by Richardson and Whitelaw (there was a sense of powerful engines idling). And don't forget that the writer Jack Pulman also wrote the 1976 series "I, Claudius". If you liked "don't eat the figs" you'd probably enjoy this show.

Far from considering it repulsive, I would place it on my shelf next to Benigni's "Life Is Beautiful", in the category "endurance of the spirit in a dehumanizing world". Not a work of genius perhaps, but far superior to the silly "Allo! Allo!" (which I also enjoyed).

This one is priceless. While it is done definitely tongue-in-cheek, this is based on actual events during the Second World War. The Nazis were successful in creating counterfeit British currency, and with it they intended to destroy the British economic monetary systems. Unfortunately, they counted too heavily on Private Schultz.

Ian Richardson does a wonderfully evil SS officer -- and the rest of the cast isn't bad either. You have to see this one for yourself.

From conception to screenplay and the performance of every actor, this is a true gem. The humor is deep and subtle and as such it is not for NASCAR fans nor for anyone who has ever thought Adam Sandler should have been allowed to survive infancy. Richardson is note-perfect, as is the under-the-radar depiction of Hilter as a seemingly-rational nutjob. For those who are pining after a DVD release, I have only one word: Usenet. If that one word has no meaning for you, do a search on 'Newsgroups' and find out how to use programs like Agent, which are as easy to use as any internet browser. You would not believe the power of the dark side, young Skywalker.

A fabulous cast, plot and hilarious script. Richardson is superb as an incompetent placed in a position of power. His acting is just supreme. Elphinck is cast as the intelligent one who is always thwarted by fate or Richardson. Richardson plays a Nazi Major and suggests to Hitler [ from an idea of Elphinck's ] that they flood Britain with forged five pound notes. Elphinck is instructed to produce the forgeries with concentration camp / slave labour. He is parachuted into England but finds that his contact [ Played by Richardson again ] has been turned by British Intelligence. He manages to escape back to France. He is always trying to have romantic encounters in which fate always has the last laugh. His main love is Billie Whitelaw who works in a brothel designed to extract military gossip and traitors by eavesdropping [ Salon Kitty style ].

Elphinck tries on many occasions to get his hand on the money but, finally fails but ends up with Whitelaw [ after the war is over ].

I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD - are the BBC mad ???

This terrific comedy showcases the talents of two of Britain's best actors, the late Michael Elphick and Ian Richardson, who are portrayed as Nazi soldiers in the SS assigned to topple the British economy by counterfeiting the currency. (This is a true story that actually happened in WW2).

Michael Elphick is superb as a cowardly conniving small-time crook who will do anything to avoid fighting. Ian Richardson is also in top form as his incompetent commanding officer. Together, they recruit a gang of Jewish criminals from concentration camps and set about their merry work.

This is one of the best comedies ever made with great performances from the entire cast. Regrettably, the DVD (produced by the BBC) is not available in the USA, presumably to appease American Jewish groups who would consider a concentration camp an inappropriate venue for a comedy.

BTW, the story was recently made into a highly recommended dramatic German-language film (The Counterfeiters, 2007).