The Last Escape

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Movie
Original title The Last Escape
Country of production United States
original language English , German , Russian
Publishing year 1970
length 86 minutes
Rod
Director Walter Grauman
script John C. Champion
Herman Hoffman
production Irving Temaner
music John Kander
camera Gernot Roll
cut Peter Elliott
Bud Molin
occupation

The Last Escape is a US war film directed by Walter Grauman and starring Stuart Whitman in the lead role. At his side, numerous German-speaking actors who were popular at the time such as Günther Neutze , Pinkas Braun , Margit Saad , Gerd Vespermann , Michael Hinz and Harald Dietl play other important roles. The fictional story shown here corresponded in reality to the US mission to track down German rocket researchers in the German Reich as part of Operation Overcast and to bring them to the USA before the Soviets could get hold of them.

action

Germany towards the end of the Second World War . The Americans are advancing deep into German territory from the west, the Soviet troops from the east. Captain Lee Mitchell of the US Military Intelligence Service ( OSS) receives an order from his superiors for a delicate and risky mission: with the support of two lower-ranking British officers, he is supposed to help an important German rocket researcher named Dr. Capture von Heinken and bring him behind the American lines before the Russians can get hold of him. The Germans, led by SS Major Hessel, who was loyal to the line, are also after von Heinken and do not want to see him fall into enemy hands. That is the starting point of this story.

Captain Mitchell is on mission to provide Dr. To kidnap Erich von Heinken initially failed. He and his people got into an ambush at night from which only Mitchell, who operated under the German cover name Hauptsturmführer Strasser, could save himself with a bold jump into a river. Obersturmbannführer Hessel, whom Mitchell escaped, went to the research station, where Heinken was testing new rocket engines, and announced that he and his people would be guarded day and night from now on. Meanwhile, Mitchell is being brought in new men, British soldiers who have parachuted over enemy territory. With them Mitchell resumes his mission to kidnap Heinken. The small Anglo-American troop is able to penetrate the research station and kidnap Blücher, despite strict guard by Heinken and his assistant. While they are fleeing, Allied air forces bomb the facility.

When Obersturmbannführer Hessel arrives on site a little later, he finds that Heinken and his assistant have disappeared. He immediately has a search patrol set up. While on the run, Mitchell's people encounter other rocket researchers who have fled the bombed facility. With them there are several German civilians in a truck. Von Heinken insists that the Anglo-Americans also take them with them, as they are no longer safe here. While Mitchell, who insists on his assignment, is anything but enthusiastic, the Briton Ltnt. Wilcox shows more compassion and plans to take all civilians with him so that they do not fall into the hands of the approaching Soviets. Karen Gerhardt, Hessel's mistress, is among the civilians. Especially because of them, Captain Mitchell shows great distrust of the new passengers. After all, the British prevailed with their will.

While Mitchell and the much larger squad flee west, Hessel's people took up their trail. The German control posts will be notified, vehicle controls should be carried out particularly carefully. The Soviets, led by Major Petrow, are also getting closer and closer to the fugitives, as they receive radio signals from Heinken's assistant Blücher, who is obviously playing a double game. Mitchell and the fugitives have now reached a large meadow where an Allied plane is supposed to pick them up, but this is shot down by a German interceptor shortly before landing. Now Major Hessel also knows where the kidnapped rocket scientist and his mistress are. Mitchell, Ltnt. Wilcox and Sergeant McBee enter a small village to steal new supplies of gasoline. A boy brings them a message from the supposedly badly wounded British soldier Jarvis. Mitchell suspects that this could be a trap, but Wilcox is determined to save his compatriot. In a house there is an exchange of fire with German soldiers hiding, in which Wilcox is shot. Again Mitchell manages to escape this ambush with a skilful jump into the depths. Mitchell and McBee, carrying the seriously injured Wilcox, race away in a stolen German army vehicle.

In their forest hiding place, Mitchell and the others consider what should happen now, as their situation is becoming more and more hopeless. Thanks to the help of Karen's little son Kurt, the Allies soon came across a supply of German gasoline that was essential to get ahead. It's in Hessel's warehouse, of all places. Mitchell steals the gasoline under his nose in one stroke and, under machine gun fire, escapes and returns to her hiding place. When the Allied soldiers as well as the German civilians want to continue with the trucks, Mitchell discovers that there is a transmitter in Blücher's radio, which he carries with him everywhere, with which he continuously transmits signals to the Russians under Petrov, a scandal ensues. Blücher takes Karen hostage and is then shot. On the way, the troop met two other British soldiers who were in Wehrmacht clothing. They tell Mitchell that the Western Allies had agreed with the Russians that everything on this side of the river should go to the Soviets, while across the river should become Western Allied territory. Mitchell wants his people to escort the scientists and civilians across the river while he tries to stop persecuting Germans and Russians alike. Wilcox and McBee engage in a gun battle with the Germans, while Mitchell uses a trick to distract the Russians. Suddenly, as a result of the chase, Germans and Russians also face each other and shoot each other. When trying to escape from the Russian tanks, the car with Major Hessel is run over. To give Mitchell and his people a head start, Wilcox drives towards the Russians and sacrifices himself by directing the pursuers on himself. He falls down a slope and is killed in the process.

Meanwhile, Mitchell has reached the border river and is ensuring that all civilians and his people cross the water as quickly as possible. But Petrov also reached the water shortly afterwards with his tank. During the crossing there was a direct firefight between the Americans and the British on the one hand and the Russians under Petrov on the other. The vehicle with the civilians also comes under massive fire. When they reached the other bank, the Russians stopped firing. Captain Mitchell approaches the Soviet tanks. Petrow has a dead soldier lying on his armor; it is Ltnt. Wilcox, who died in the fall. The surviving Sgt. McBee, whom the Russians took with them, is also sitting on the tank. He jumps from the tank and carries the dead British comrade recovered by the Soviets to the other bank. Mitchell and Petrov salute with respect. While Mitchell goes to the other bank, Petrow's tanks turn on the sandy ground and continue.

Production notes

The Last Escape was made in 1968 at several locations in Bavaria and in the Bavaria Studios and was premiered on May 6, 1970 in Salt Lake City.

This film was inspired by the huge commercial success of the US war film The Dirty Dozen , but it didn't even come close to replicating its success. The Last Escape did not appear in Germany despite the large number of German forces in front of and behind the camera and was never shown on German television.

Rolf Zehetbauer created the few film structures, Frank Guarente was assistant director. Karl “Charly Bum-Bum” Baumgartner , who specializes in explosions and fires of all kinds, created the numerous special effects.

The Last Escape was the last movie for Margit Saad . Harald Dietl speaks his part entirely in Russian.

Reviews

The film received little attention from the critics and received only moderate ratings. Here are a few examples:

Allmovie.com gave a succinct verdict: "Routine World War II drama."

The Movie & Video Guide identified “predictable results” in this film.

Halliwell's Film Guide called the flick a "World War I action film according to the scheme."

The American Catholic Intelligence Service concluded that Walter Grauman was dealing with an all too "obvious script" and "wooden art of representation", framed by "a lot of war-related action scenes with surprisingly little bloodshed."

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kay Less : The large personal dictionary of the film , Volume 8, p. 363 (entry Stuart Whitman). Berlin 2001
  2. ↑ TCM Notes
  3. ↑ The Last Escape on allemovie.com
  4. ^ Leonard Maltin : Movie & Video Guide, 1996 edition, p. 726
  5. ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 579
  6. ^ Brief review by the Catholic News Service Media Review Office

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