As Good As It Gets

Absolutely the worst movie.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

My favourite war movie, 36 Hours is a taut and engrossing thriller. I first saw at the time it was released and never forgot the memorable story line, although it took me more than 4 decades to track it down again. It trades heavily on the viewer's buy-in regarding the importance of the success of D-Day in saving the free world. It's funny that although we're all well aware that the D-Day landings succeeded we can't help being genuinely fearful while viewing the film about the Germans getting the details in advance, and that keeps us on the edge of or seats. Other critics feel the suspense lapses when the jig is initially up with hero, but I beg to differ. At that stage other elements are introduced. Our sympathy with the heroine Anna is developed by learning more about her, and similarly the character of the German doctor Walter Gerber becomes more interesting as his tense relationship with the Nazi side deteriorates.It truly ain't over til it's over in this film with the humour introduced by the unpredictable John Banner character. Finally, my favourite bit of all is at the end of the film. It's subtle and full of sentiment without being in the least sentimental. Well done! I'd rank 36 Hours an 8/10 overall. The missing points are because of the lack of any attempt to provide costumes and hairstyles in period, and because I feel the lovely Rod Taylor is miscast in the role of the doctor.

Based on the 1944 short story "Beware of the Dog" by Roald Dahl, this is a superb World War II thriller which is brilliantly written and directed by George Seaton. It concerns a US Army major named Jeff Pike who is kidnapped by the Nazis in Lisbon on June 1, 1944. In the hope of learning the date and location of the imminent Allied invasion, they stage an elaborate hoax to convince him that it is in fact 1950 and that he is in a United States military hospital in occupied Germany, having lost his memory of the last six years. I only learned of the film's existence two weeks ago but I am fairly certain that it inspired the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Future Imperfect" and the "Stargate SG-1" episode "Out of Mind", both of which have similar premises.James Garner gives one of his best performances as Pike, a fiercely intelligent man whose extensive training in resisting interrogation techniques is what makes it necessary for the Nazis to go to such measures. The hoax is an extremely convincing one and he falls for it hook, line and sinker until he realises that he still has a paper cut that he received the day before he was kidnapped. Eva Marie Saint is likewise excellent as Anna Hedler, a concentration camp inmate who was recruited into the scheme because she was a nurse and could speak English. She pretends to be Pike's wife, which was a masterstroke on the Nazis' part as it means that Pike is far more willing to open up to her. After he realises the truth, she describes her horrific experiences in Auschwitz and Ravensbrück. Although she did not earn Pike's sympathy, at least initially, she certainly earned mine. I doubt that there is anyone who would not do as she did to prevent themselves being sent back to a concentration camp. As the film progresses and they prepare to make their escape to Switzerland, however, Pike warms to her and there is a nice, very understated love story between them. They are separated in the film's final scene but it is strongly hinted that she has fallen in love with him and perhaps the same is true of him.The best character in the film, however, is Major Walter Gerber, a brilliant American-born German doctor who came up with the amnesia hoax. Rod Taylor was certainly cast against type as a Nazi but he excels in the role. Gerber confides in Pike that he first developed the idea as a way of helping shell shocked soldiers who had returned from the Eastern Front recover from their ordeal but that, as so often happens, it was perverted by the military industrial complex. Throughout the film, Gerber finds himself in conflict with the SS Standartenführer Otto Schack, played very effectively by a suitably creepy Werner Peters. As he observes repeatedly, Schack is a practical man. When it appears that Gerber's scheme will fail, he is completely against it. When it appears that it will succeed, he tries to take half the credit. He is a survivor, telling Gerber at one point that he is content to a follower as opposed to a leader since it is safer not to stand out from the crowd. Gerber is not a good man by any means but he shows occasional glimmers of conscience. Most notably, he helps Pike and Anna to escape. However, he does so not out of the goodness of his heart but as an act of revenge against Schack after he learns that he is to be arrested. This is highly reminiscent of the final scenes of "Spartacus" in which Gracchus helps the title character's wife Varinia and their newborn son escape from Rome as a final victory over his rival Crassus. I'd be surprised if it was not directly inspired by that film. The film also has nice appearances from Alan Napier, Oscar Beregi, Jr., John Banner (who is a laugh riot), Celia Lovsky, Martin Kosleck and D-Day veteran James Doohan.The audience is aware from the beginning that it is a hoax but there is a terrific sense of tension as we wait for Pike to reveal the details of D-Day and to figure out that he is being deceived, both of which happen in due course. In the Nazis' fantasy version of 1950, FDR is still alive and his second vice president Henry A. Wallace succeeded him as President, the Wehrmacht staged a coup by killing Hitler, Goebbels and Goering in one fell swoop and surrendered to the Allies in November 1944, the Pacific War ended three months later and Himmler was executed for war crimes. With the exception of the quick and easy victory in the Pacific (since none of the characters involved knew of the atomic bomb), these were all reasonable and plausible speculations of what could have happened after D-Day and Pike takes it all as Gospel as he has no reason to doubt it. Under the circumstances, the filmmakers really had no choice but to let the audience in on the secret but it was to the film's advantage in any event. It served to make Pike a more sympathetic character as I kept hoping that he would see through the deception before revealing the details of the invasion plan. In a very clever move, the film makes great use of the fact that the invasion was planned for June 5 but was postponed for a day due to the dreadful weather in the English Channel. It is a nice reminder that history is often dramatic enough without inventing things. Even after the hoax is revealed to Pike, however, the same high level of tension is maintained.Overall, this is an excellent film which is never less than completely engrossing and which respects the audience's intelligence.

Mr. Dahl, who was a fighter pilot during WWI, was captured by the Germans and held prisoner for a short time. With those credentials, he was certainly in the position of writing a credible story/film. However, the plot and story line became tedious for this viewer because Intelligence officers, even Nazi's were not inclined to spend so much effort in a plan that was easily doomed to failure. Just imagine yourself in James Garner's position as the American with info about the D Day invasion. In the first place, a Major is not likely to know what the German's want to know. Both sides had major disinformation campaigns operating. The Nazi's actually knew the Allied plans, they just didn't believe them, because Hitler had decided the attack was coming at the Pas DeCalais, the shortest distance between Europe and England. He refused to believe the reality of the Normandy invasion, for days. Many German General's suspected Normandy would be the intended target, they also knew how futile changing Hitler's mind would be.Hitler, a corporal during WWI, was not a professional soldier, as a politician and head of state, he frequently refused to take professional advice, which caused the end of his regime more than any other factor. Knowing all this in 1965, it was hard for me to accept the concept of this story. I knew that the German's had discovered through a spy in the British embassy in Turkey, solid proof the name of Overlord, the date, and place. The information came from the British Ambassador's safe, a much more credible source than what an American Major might know, considering the deception plans of the time.Without knowing the history of the times, today's viewers should consider this. If you were told 6 years had passed from your life, you certainly would want to get on the phone and tell someone. If you were at an alleged American base, there would be no credible reason you could not make a call to someone, the planners of this deception could anticipate. A trained intelligence officer, would immediately suspect the reality of the situation far quicker than it took Garner. In real life, the planners of such an operation would realize this hurdle would be insurmountable, and go on to other methods. The props of the film are wonderful, the nurses, American Jeeps, the role played by Rod Cameron, as the fake American. Obviously, they could fool any one for about 5 minutes. Good fiction must be logical however clever it is hidden. Wouldn't you want to call someone if you just found out you were six years older, the war was over, and how was so and so back home?The Nazi's couldn't anticipate who you would call, and what questions would be asked.James Bond movies were just hitting the theaters, at the time this film was made. They were enjoyable because they did not try to be serious. You didn't have to believe they were believable. They were outrageous, and most of Bond's exploits were just as far fetched as the plot of 36 hours. But 36 hours would have you believe that its story line was plausible, at least until Garner discovered he was being duped It took too long, the character played by Eva Maria Saint was even less credible than Rod Cameron's character. But for the sake of a happy ending with a girl at the end of the rainbow, 36 hours is unfortunately a contrived story that made it seem more like a TV show rather than a good film.

This was a very well thought out movie. My father wrote the screen-play as a ghost writer and I wish he could have received the credit. Unfortunately, it was the way things operated at the time, he was blacklisted due to Senator McCarthy... I remember his toiling away on this plot and asking us for feedback. He was only able to sell the book rights. This was because he was at one time a temporary member of the communist party. As a result of this and being "blacklisted," he moved the family down to Mexico and continued writing under a pseudonym. I hope people enjoy this movie and will continue to comment. I am trying to get another copy since the one I loaned out was never returned to me.