36 hours
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | 36 hours |
| Original title | 36 hours |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1965 |
| length | 111 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | George Seaton |
| script | George Seaton |
| production | William Perlberg |
| music | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| camera | Philip H. Lathrop |
| cut | Adrienne Fazan |
| occupation | |
| |
36 hours is an American war and espionage film directed by George Seaton. The film, whose script is based on the short story "Beware of the Dog" by Roald Dahl , was shot in 1964. The film premiered on January 28, 1965 in the United States. In Germany, the film first appeared in cinemas on March 4, 1965.
action
The American secret service officer Major Pike was kidnapped by Germans in Lisbon in 1944 , drugged and brought to southern Germany. Pike is one of the overlords and thus initiated into the Allied invasion plans for the Normandy landings . The Germans want to get Pike's knowledge at great expense.
Pike awakes from his deep unconsciousness. He is apparently in an American military hospital in occupied Germany in 1950. The war seems to be over. The psychiatrist Major Gerber, actually a German Nazi doctor, tells Pike that he is suffering from amnesia. The amnesia can be remedied if Pike can tell the events before, during and after the invasion. Gerber only has 36 hours to gather the information. After that, the drugs, which degrade Pike's eyesight, and the hair dyes would lose their effectiveness, thus revealing the simulated aging by six years. The SS distrust Gerber's methods and would like to use torture methods to gain Pike's knowledge, regardless of the fact that Pike, as a secret agent, learned to withstand such treatments. Nevertheless, she gives Gerber 36 hours to use his psychological tricks to gain the information he needs.
Pike talks about what he believes were the Allies' plans at the time. He particularly emphasizes the planned date, June 5th. He tracked down the trickery when he noticed a small cut that he had in 1944 and that has still not healed. He tries to convince Gerber and the Gestapo man Schack that he saw through the wrong game from the start and gave the Germans wrong information. Anna Hedler, a German nurse who pretends to have been liberated from the concentration camp by US soldiers and to be his wife, helps him. Anna later reveals to Pike that she was assigned to him by the SS in exchange for his release from the concentration camp.
Through Pike's statements, Schack doubts that the Allies planned Normandy as a bridgehead. Under sleep deprivation torture, Pike then reveals false information and names the English Channel coast as the site of the invasion. The allies in Portugal, who ascribe Pike's disappearance or his kidnapping to the Germans, themselves scatter false information to encourage the Germans to believe that the invasion will take place near Calais.
Gerber, who knows that Pike only saw through the deception after his original revelation about Normandy as the site of the invasion, tries one last trick. He puts the clock forward by seven hours unnoticed and fakes a radio announcement. Pike is supposed to believe that that day the invasion took place. Pike now also admits that the landing has started, whereupon Gerber alerts the headquarters. However, his message is intercepted by Schack and is lost.
In reality, the Allies did not land until a day later because the weather was too bad. Gerber falls from grace and gives Pike papers documenting his research into amnesia. Then he helps him and Anna escape from the hospital. After that, Gerber commits suicide.
The landing in Normandy enraged Schack. He pursues Pike and Anna to the border, where the border soldier Ernst (incorrectly referred to as the Volkssturmmann ) wants to help them across the border. For this he should get Pike's watch and Anna's ring. Ernst's friend Elsa gets the ring. When Ernst brings the two fugitives to the border, Schack goes to the house. He notices Anna's ring on Elsa's hand and forces her to say where they have gone. Schack reaches the three of them, Ernst can shoot him. In Switzerland, Pike is preparing for his return trip to London. He knows that he will see Anna again after the war.
Reviews
The lexicon of international films describes the film as an “imaginative and exciting spy drama.” The magazine Variety also describes the film as “imaginative”, with Rod Taylor being very effective in his eccentric role. The Evangelische Film-Beobachter also praises it : “Exciting, properly designed American spy film about the unusual methods of the German secret service at the end of the Second World War. As entertainment possible from 16 onwards. "
background
production
The MGM production was filmed in Yosemite National Park and Portugal .
James Garner, who also acted as co-producer, struggled with the film rights to the newsreel reports, which were intended to give the film historical authenticity.
occupation
In smaller supporting roles u. a. Sig Ruman as a German guard , Martin Kosleck as Kraatz, James Doohan as Bishop, known as "Scotty" from the TV series Raumschiff Enterprise , John Hart as Lieutenant Perkins and Walter Janowitz as Dr. Butcher up. The last three were not mentioned in the credits. John Banner, Austrian actor, later became known as Sergeant Schultz in the comedic television series A Cage Full of Heroes .
Film crew
Award-winning film architects Edward C. Carfagno and George W. Davis as well as set designers Henry Grace and Frank R. McKelvy were responsible for the buildings. Edith Head designed the costumes .
Web links
- 36 hours in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 36 hours. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ variety.com ( Memento from September 15, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ Ev. Munich Press Association, Review No. 88/1965, p. 167