36 heures avant le débarquement

This B&W movie "36 Hours" is now being repeated on digital TV quite regularly, and I never tire of watching it. The WW II storyline, written by Roald Dahl & Carl Hittleman, is an odd one. It has to be one of the most implausible, yet somehow believable tales ever to be thought up.

A US "hospital" run by Nazi Intelligence has been set up in Germany to enable secrets to be winkled out from it's "patients" (i.e. prisoners). The gimmick is that the inmates are led to believe that the war has been over for a number of years in favour of the Allies.

The new arrival a certain Maj. Jefferson Pike (James Garner) is an Overlorder (i.e. someone who is "au fait" with the plans of the forthcoming Normandy landings). After being kidnapped in Lisbon he is brought unconscious to the hospital and given necessary ageing treatment. On regaining consciousness he is told that he is suffering from amnesia, and has been a hospital patient for years, but he must now start remembering.

A disguised Wehrmacht psychiatrist Maj. Walter Gerber (an American born German, but a good guy at heart) (Rod Taylor) is given the task of unlocking the valuable knowledge. If he fails, he and his hospital are for the chop. (And the Allies will succeed in their invasion etc. etc.) Anna Hedler, his nurse, and supposedly Pike's wife, is an ex-concentration camp internee (Eve Marie Saint) who will do anything not to be sent back. End of stage one, but will the secrets come out in stage two?...watch the movie to find out.

"36 Hours", ably directed by George Seaton, is an intriguing movie that holds the attention right to the last. It's an intelligent script, complemented by intelligent acting, with suspenseful music holding it all together. Not exactly a classic, but I certainly think it will last the test of time (and on reflection...I suppose it already has done). Personally I love it.

As a matter of record, there were hundreds of soldiers who returned to the States with little memory of what their role was in World War Two. Here in this story called " 36 Hours " an Intelligent's Officer (James Garner) Major Jefferson F. Pike is given the latest secret plans for the Invasion of Normandy and is thereafter sent to Lisbon Portugal to ascertain if the German High Command are chasing the false ruses put out by the Allies. What the U.S Intelligence office does not know is, the Major is unexpectedly kidnapped and sent to Germany to undergo a daring experimental scheme. The Germans' have a highly educated Phychiatrist, Major Walter Gerber (Rod Taylor) who is going to try and convince the Major, that not only is World War II is over, but it is now six years in the future. With the help of Anna Hedler (Eva Marie Saint) heading a highly trained staff of English speaking Germans and a secret, isolated military compound they hope to trick him into revealing the Allies invasion plans. All things go according to plan until the one thing they had hoped would not happen does. Although Garner proves to command the screen with his role, it is Taylor who elicits sympathy for his compassionate character and we discover ourselves rooting for Gerber to succeed. A dramatic film and one which allows the audience to wait impatiently for the hours to be extended. ****

Great, offbeat WWII thriller from The Spy Who Came in From the Cold Genre. If you've ever wondered where the Sgt. Schultz character developed from Hogan's Heroes - watch and be surprised! Tight Script and excellent performances from Saint, Taylor, and Garner. Filmed in B & W to enhance the intensity.

This is one of my favorite WW II movies. It's tag line was GIVE ME THIRTY SIX HOURS and I'll give you a traitor. D-Day is upon the Germans defending The Atlantic Wall. The US is about to launch a colossal invasion force on the European continent, but where will the blow strike? To be sure German agents kidnap American Major Pike (James Garner) from neutral Spain and send him deep into Germany where they've set up a Ptomekin village, a US post in an occupied Germany sometime five years hence. The psychologist an American born German serving in the Wehrmacht is to persuade captured Pike that Pike has been suffering from amnesia for five years and has now recovered his long term memory at the cost of losing his recent memory. The setting is idyllic and the gilted cage is cozy, replete with a faux-wife.

Will Pike see through the German plot? A must see unusually well done spy story.

This is one of my all-time favorite films. Fortunately, we have a video store near us where I can rent old films like this and enjoy the creative story whenever I choose. The main plot of this story, along with the various subplots, held my interest from the beginning. After seeing the film just once, I could recall so many of the details because the film is just THAT GOOD! It is a well-casted film and one that I wish would be shown on TV (I can't recall the last time it was) so that others could become aware of this really suspenseful film. I've rented this movie for my kids and my husband to see because it hasn't been televised and I wanted them to be able to experience the same riveting viewing experience that I've enjoyed so many times.