The Night of the Generals

1967
PG
2h 28m

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

YOUR RATING

In 1942, a Polish prostitute and German Agent is murdered in Warsaw. Suspicion falls on three Generals, and Major Grau (Omar Sharif) of German Intelligence seeks justice which ends up taking decades.

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Crime Drama Mystery Thriller War

In 1942, a Polish prostitute and German Agent is murdered in Warsaw. Suspicion falls on three Generals, and Major Grau of German Intelligence seeks justice which ends up taking decades.In 1942, a Polish prostitute and German Agent is murdered in Warsaw. Suspicion falls on three Generals, and Major Grau of German Intelligence seeks justice which ends up taking decades.In 1942, a Polish prostitute and German Agent is murdered in Warsaw. Suspicion falls on three Generals, and Major Grau of German Intelligence seeks justice which ends up taking decades.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win total

Trivia
Because Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif were being held to contracts signed several years earlier, when they were less famous, they both had to accept smaller fees than one would expect, given how famous they were when this movie was made early in 1966. Neither was very happy with this situation, but they took care to claim the lavish living expenses to which they were entitled.

Goofs
Major Grau is handed a German soldier's identity disc from the crime scene in Paris shortly before Operation Valkyrie commences. He reveals the name of the suspect by apparently reading the name on the disc. German identity discs, however, never contained the soldier's name on them - only their roll number, unit designation and occasionally their blood group.

Quotes
Major Grau: One of them is a... a murderer.
Inspector Morand: Only one? But murder is the occupation of Generals.
Major Grau: Then let us say what is admirable on the large scale is monstrous on the small. Since we must give medals to mass murderers, why not give justice to the small... entrepreneurs.

Crazy credits
The opening titles are a montage of a Nazi general's clothing and decorations.

Alternate versions
The UK cinema version was heavily edited for an 'A' (PG) certificate and removed nearly all the references to the victims being whores, as well as shortening the bed scene between Hartmann & Ulrike, the police interrogation of the suspected sex offenders, and editing some of the dialogue describing the murders. Later releases were upgraded to a 15 certificate and were fully uncut.

Connections
Featured in Discovering Film: Omar Sharif (2015)

Soundtracks
ENTRANCE MARCH
(from Tannhaeuser) (uncredited)
Music by Richard Wagner

User reviews96

Review

Featured review

Dramas in the drama

"Night of the generals" is big Anglo-French production of 1966, which talks about dramatic facts in a dramatic period (World War II). Two prostitutes are assassinated (in Poland and in France respectively) by a mysterious killer. A colonel of the German army (Omar Sharif) investigates and suspects three generals -two of them (Charles Gray and Donald Pleasence) are involved in a plot to kill Hitler, the other one (Peter O'Toole) is the most crazy and dangerous-. Twenty years later the same French inspector (Philippe Noiret) who helped Sharif in the inquiry faces another case of a murdered prostitute, the crime is executed in the same way as the previous ones...

This film is excellent. With a supercast (O'Toole, Sharif, Pleasence, Gray, Courtenay, Noiret) director Anatole Litvak directs a classic, a masterpiece. This film, maybe, is not as famous and as remembered as it should be... It deserves to be rediscovered, thanks to the recent DVD release.