The Night of the Generals
Dir: Anatole Litvak
1967
***
Sam Spiegel's 1967 War thriller is beautifully directed by The Night of the Generals and has a cast to die for including; Omar Sharif, Charles Gray, Donald Pleasence, Peter O'Toole, Tom Courtenay and Christopher Plummer), all giving competitively impressive performances. The original story by Hans Hellmut Kirst has been brilliantly adapted by both Joseph Kessel (Belle de Jour) and Paul Dehn (Goldfinger, Escape from the Planet of the Apes) and is a wonderful mix of the very different but equally impressive body of work both men produced in their lifetimes. It's the sort of film rainy Sunday afternoons are made for, however, in my opinion the story takes a bit of a wrong turn just after half way as the Valkyrie sub-plot lets the production wander dangerously away from the main story. I feel this is somewhat detrimental to the overall film, that could have been as long as it is had it stuck to the main plot but is overlong as it in its final cut. Still, well worth watching for the unpredictable and chilling performances.