History Film / TheNightOfTheGenerals

''The Night of the Generals'' is a film based on the novel of the same name by Hans Helmut Kurst. It was directed by Anatole Litvak and released in 1967. It's both a war movie and also a murder mystery (in theory, although the killer's identity is immediately obvious).

* TheFilmOfTheBook: A by-and-large faithful adaptation of Hans Helmet Kurst's novel. According to one film historian, the screenwriters also incorporated elements of James Hadley Chase's unrelated novel ''The Wary Transgressor'', particularly in sketching Hartmann's relationship with Tanz.

* HighClassGlass: Von Seidlitz-Gabler wears a monocle in several scenes.

* RunForTheBorder: Kahlenberg mentions doing this as soon as he heard that Hitler had survived the bombing, and did make it to Switzerland ahead of his pursuers.

* BaldOfEvil: What we're led to believe Kahlenberge is. He's actually:
** BaldOfAwesome: Despite looking like a stereotypical Nazi skinhead, Kahlenberge is actually one of the most moral people in the film other than Grau. He hates the hero worship surrounding Tanz, finds his actions in Warsaw to be despicable, and eventually [[spoiler:joins the plot to kill Hitler.]]

* DirtyCoward: What Hartmann thinks he is.
** LovableCoward: What Ulrika thinks he is.

* SuspectIsHatless: Averted. While the witness could only provide one, seemingly unimportant detail regarding the killer (he was wearing trousers with a red stripe on them), that description greatly narrows down the field of suspects, as only German generals wear trousers with a red stripe. Major Grau quickly narrows the suspect pol to the three generals in the city who do not have alibis.

The movie was notable in its time for its AllStarCast and extensive location shooting; notably, it was the first Anglo-American production to film in Warsaw during the Cold War. Unfortunately the production was rather tumultuous: shooting began without a finished screenplay, with producer Sam Spiegel bringing in numerous script doctors (notably Creator/GoreVidal and Robert Anderson) for rewrites while the movie was in production, and his domineering producing style aggravated both director Anatole Litvak and the cast members. Though the movie received respectable critical reviews, it flopped at the box office and became one of Spiegel's least-successful movies.

* StarCrossedLovers: Hartmann and Ulrike have shades of this [[spoiler: Particularly after he is framed for mruder and tries to contact her before fleeing]].

[[quoteright:262:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/night_of_the_generals.jpg]]

* ThatOneCase: The murdered prostitutes cause Grau, and eventually Morand, quite a bit of perplexion, and determination to solve them.

* TerrifiedOfGerms: Tanz, so much so that he always wears ConspicuousGloves.

* SuspectIshatlass: Averted. While the witness could only provide one, seemingly unimportant detail regarding the killer (he was wearing trousers with a red stripe on them), that description greatly narrows down the field of suspects, as only German generals wear trousers with a red stripe. Major Grau quickly narrows the suspect pol to the three generals in the city who do not have alibis.

The story concerns the murder of Polish prostitute Maria Kupiecka in Nazi-occupied Warsaw. Ordinarily this wouldn't be of much importance to either the German occupiers ''or'' the local Polish police, but for two things: firstly, investigating German Intelligence officer Major Grau (Omar Sharif) is obsessed with the idea of justice for all ("Justice can sometimes hear the cry of a murdered woman," he insists), whether prostitute or not, and secondly, Maria happened to also be cooperating with the German authorities, meaning Grau has another incentive to find her killer.

The movie was notable in its time for its AllStarCast and extensive location shooting; notably, it was the first Anglo-American production to film in Warsaw after the end of World War II. Unfortunately the production was rather tumultuous: shooting began without a finished screenplay, with producer Sam Spiegel bringing in numerous script doctors (notably Creator/GoreVidal and Robert Anderson) to rewrite the script while the movie was in production, and his domineering producing style aggravated both director Anatole Litvak and the cast members. Though it received good critical reviews, it flopped at the box office.

There was only one witness, a fellow tenant in Maria's apartment building. He only got a glimpse of her killer: whoever he was, he was wearing a Wehrmacht uniform with a red stripe down the pants legs. Grau, intrigued, realizes only German generals have red stripes on their pants. A highly skilled investigator, he quickly narrows his list of suspects down to three officers who have no alibi: Herbert von Seidlitz-Gabler (Charles Gray), his aide Klaus Kahlenberge (Creator/DonaldPleasence), and the recently arrived Wilhelm Tanz (Creator/PeterOToole). All of them claim innocence, but Grau is driven by a desire to see the killer brought to justice, as he is disgusted that they are hiding behind their rank. Grau is ultimately [[ReassignedToAntarctica reassigned to Paris]] when his investigation comes too close for comfort.

There was only one witness, a fellow tenant in Maria's apartment building. He only got a glimpse of her killer: whoever he was, he was wearing a Wehrmacht uniform with a red stripe down the pants legs. Grau, intrigued, realizes only German generals have red stripes on their pants. A highly skilled investigator, he quickly narrows his list of suspects down to three officers who have no alibi: Herbert von Seidlitz-Gabler (Charles Gray), his aide Klaus Kahlenberge (Creator/DonaldPleasence), and the recently arrived Wilhelm Tanz (Creator/PeterOToole). All of them claim innocence, but Grau is driven by a desire to see the killer brought to justice, as he is disgusted that they are hiding behind their rank.

* BlondeGuysAreEvil: Tanz, oh so very much. [[spoiler:Even if he hadn't turned out to be the murderer, his actions in his capacity as a general (both in the Wehrmacht and the SS) are thoroughly nasty and he commits numerous war crimes.]]

* FakeNationality: Several, as almost all of the Germans are played by British actors, although the most egregious example of the Egyptian Omar Sharif as Grau.

** In the first instance, [[spoiler:Tanz]] frames [[spoilerHartmann]] for the latest murder in Paris.

* AteHisGun: [[spoiler:Tanz at the end.]]

''The Night of the Generals'' is a film based on the [[Literature/TheNightOfTheGenerals|novel]] of the same name by Hans Helmut Kurst. It was directed by Anatole Litvak and released in 1967. It's both a war movie and also a murder mystery (in theory, although the killer's identity is immediately obvious).

The story concerns the murder of Polish prostitute Maria Kupiecka in Nazi-occupied Warsaw. Ordinarily this wouldn't be of much importance to either the German occupiers ''or'' the local Polish police, but for two things: firstly, investigating German Intelligence officer Major Grau (Creator/OmarSharif) is obsessed with the idea of justice for all ("Justice can sometimes hear the cry of a murdered woman," he insists), whether prostitute or not, and secondly, Maria happened to also be cooperating with the German authorities, meaning Grau has another incentive to find her killer.

There was only one witness, a fellow tenant in Maria's apartment building. He only got a glimpse of her killer: whoever he was, he was wearing a Wehrmacht uniform with a red stripe down the pants legs. Grau, intrigued, realizes only German generals have red stripes on their pants. A highly skilled investigator, he quickly narrows his list of suspects down to three officers who have no alibi: Herbert von Seidlitz-Gabler (Creator/CharlesGray), his aide Klaus Kahlenberge (Creator/DonaldPleasence), and the recently arrived Wilhelm Tanz (Creator/PeterOTool). All of them claim innocence, but Grau is driven by a desire to see the killer brought to justice, as he is disgusted that they are hiding behind their rank.