Les rêves érotiques de Paula Schultz

This trashy cheap comedy has only one reason to be preserved. That saving grace is Elke Sommers. Elke is the most beautiful actress in Hollywood. Her costumes were amazing. They showed so much but still concealed. She is constantly losing her clothes in delightful ways. The scene in the white satin dress is the stuff that dreams are made of. Her expressions, her voice, her accent, her hair, her eyes...I can watch that scene over & over again. That sounds adolescent, but I was an adolescent when I first watched this film. Elke had many other good scenes:her fight with agent outside the club was fun as were the high jump over the tower of bottles; dancing on the bed wearing a bedspread;the torn dress that belonged to Forman's wife (who is also quite comely in a different way). So why not give it a ten? Because the awful script & the clumsy antics of the East German agents rate a 0. I will give it +1 for Joey Forman's believability and +7 for Elke. In summary, not an ounce of appeal for women and only has appeal for men who still recall their adolescent dreams.

The idea of using the Hogan's Heroes cast in a cold war farce could have been delicious. The Paula Schultz character, her circumstances, and goals, could have made for a very interesting cold war farce. Bob Crane, stepping out of character, to form a complex blend of con man, sadist, and American patriot, had definite possibilities. Unfortunately, when they put them all together. This is the mess they got. I can hardly believe that George Marshall (!!!) is the credited director on this disjointed, slapsticky, murky mess.

Sexually arousing Elke Sommer (as Paula Schultz) is the star Olympian athlete in Communist-run East Germany. Entranced by Western 1960s pop culture, Ms. Sommer shows up for a publicity photo wearing her miniskirt and busty top. instead of the expected jumpsuit. Her shocking attire brings Sommer to the attention of horny propaganda minister Werner Klemperer (as Klaus). Sommer escapes from his bed and pole-vaults over the Berlin Wall. American black-market businessman Bob Crane (as William "Bill" Mason) saves Sommer from bumbling East German agent John Banner (as Weber). He must decide whether he should sell Sommer back to the East Germans, or keep her for himself...

This stupid, overlong comedy features sex symbol Sommer and several stars from the concurrent CBS TV series "Hogan's Heroes". As a comedy, it fails miserably. There are a few moments when Mr. Klemperer (the TV show's intellectually challenged Nazi Col. Klink) and Mr. Banner (his rotund "I know nothing, nothing!" Sgt. Shultz) employ their familiar physical comic skills. Their efforts are wasted. The TV situation comedy's writers gave Mr. Crane and the series a sly wit that is completely absent from this film. About the only thing it does well is show Sommer in various stages of dress and undress. It's all G-rated, but her incredible sexiness makes up for the tease.

*** The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1/3/68) George Marshall ~ Elke Sommer, Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, John Banner

This film begins with a beautiful Olympic athlete by the name of "Paula Schultz" (Elke Sommer) constantly at odds with the communist establishment in East Germany and wanting the freedom to express herself as a woman. As far as the East German authorities are concerned, they only care about her fame as an athlete and want to use her simply for propaganda purposes. So, when she shows up in a stylish outfit for a photo session intended to publicize the latest tractor, things soon become quite heated to the point that her boss "Director Klaus" (Werner Klemperer) decides to personally intervene. To that effect, one thing soon leads to another and, after he attempts to seduce her in his bedroom, she utilizes her athletic ability to escape into West Berlin. From that point on Director Klaus does everything he can to bring her back--which includes making a deal with a black marketeer named "Bill Mason" (Bob Crane) who promises to betray her for $75,000. For his part, Director Klaus would rather capture her without paying anything in return and sends in a specialist by the name of "Agent Weber" (John Banner) to try to accomplish that task first. What he doesn't count on, however, is just how incompetent he and his men turn out to be. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be a little bit better than I expected due in large part to the casting of Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, John Banner and Leon Askin (as "Oscar") from the popular television series "Hogan's Heroes." I especially liked the performance of John Banner who, I believe, stole the show. Likewise, having a stunning beauty like Elke Sommer certainly didn't hurt either. Admittedly, the script wasn't nearly as good as it could have been, and the actors suffered to a certain extent because of it. But even so, I enjoyed this movie for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

was Ed Wood to direct it.

I saw this on TV when I was about 10 years old and a rabid Hogan's Heroes fan. I was horrified. Yes, even at the tender age of ten I could recognize a terrible film with actors I admired trapped inside it. There's a big difference between playing a not-too-bright character skillfully, and playing a pointless buffoon.

How much of a masochist am I? Enough to re-watch this piece of crud again, 40 years later, when I spotted it online. The ten-year-old me still wanted to cry for my old TV friends, but the 50-year-old me, fortified with copious amounts of cheap wine, managed to appreciate the amusing aspects of Leon Askin's character being Werner Klemperer's flunky instead of the other way around, and to enjoy John Banner's performance… the man never missed; I can't understand why he never won an Emmy. Klemperer in his underwear groping a mostly-naked Elke Sommer was just gross… whose idea was it to give Sommer's character the last name of 'Schultz', providing Klemperer the unenviable challenge of saying lines like "my darling Schultz"? We get it; it's a gimmick film with a gimmick cast, and that's about as subtle as a sledgehammer between the eyes. I'm sorry, Mr. Klemperer; you were better than that.

And Bob Crane was there. Mostly being Bob Crane. Nothing much to report.

I'd love to see the Rifftrax guys get their hands on this one someday.