I like II World War movies and I like Thrillers too. Night of the Generals is both, and both good. Actually, it has two plots that go along perfectly. On one side the historically accurate intent leaded by Col. Von Sauffenberg to kill Hitler on July 20, 1944, and on the other the murders of prostitutes by an unrevealed German general in Warsaw and occupied Paris that are investigated by a German officer who believes that "any time is good to catch a murderer" (even war time). Although the identity of the assassin -out of three suspects- can be anticipated early in the picture tension and interest do not decrease at all due to a strong direction by Anatole Litvak. As for acting the cast makes its job fair enough. Peter O'Toole plays really good his tortured character and Donald Pleasence is in high level too. No complaints on Tom Courtney, Charles Grey and Joanna Pettet's performances. The music score is also a credit. Omar Sharif's complete miscast as a German officer is the only flop I could find in such an interesting and well assembled movie. The Egyptian actor, no matter how hard he tries, can never be taken seriously in such a rol. This aside, the film is one of the best of all times in its genre.
Review of The Night of the Generals
