Colibel
Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.
XoWizIama
Excellent adaptation.
Grimossfer
Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
mpolans
Interesting to see some of the comments here, questioning how realistic the movie is. The movie is an excellent depiction of the very techniques used by the very real-life WWII German interrogator, Hanns-Joachim Scharff. Scharff, who originally wasn't even supposed to be an interrogator, found the traditional ideas of using brutality distasteful and ineffective. The methods shown in the movie, such as making small talk, pretending to know all the details, a change of scenery, etc are all very well-documented, and are still recognized interrogation approaches taught to this day. Incidentally, Scharff (who's notoriety I can only suspect inspired this training film) emigrated to the U.S. after the war and became a big time mosaic artist; some of his artwork can be seen on Disney properties.
Col_Hessler
I had heard of this film over the years, and finally got to see it today. This is a clever use of film for training American flyers to clam up if they are captured. Our flyboys end up in the clutches of the clever Germans, who use all kinds non-violent means to soften up the unsuspecting GI's to give up info on an upcoming raid.Others have commented on the Germans using torture to get information, but it is known now that Herman Goering, who made sure the Luftwaffe kept shot down flyers, would not allow that. Lloyd Nolan's opening and closing lines are terrific. He gives the lesson it's exclamation point very well. I give it an 8 out of 10. Look for it to come on again and record it if you have to, just to get a glimpse of WWII film-making.
L_Miller
Other comments cover the quality; the interesting part is how the Germans identify the weaknesses of each man and play to them. I don't know if the Nazis were always as subtle as this (I imagine a lit cigarette to the groin or pulling out a few fingernails to a subject or his friends would encourage a frank and open discussion).Good film, relatively propaganda free. It's interesting to watch the way American WWII propaganda treats the Germans as opposed to the Japanese. The Germans are usually portrayed as sophisticated and slimy while the Japanese are shown as little more than cunning animals. Compare "Identification of the Japanese Zero" with this film.Watchable on its own terms, interesting to watch the Germans working on each guy in their own way and piecing together the scraps they get from each man to finding the whole story. I imagine the black-bag boys at Gitmo are doing much the same thing.
waha99
This film was originally produced and released as a training film for the Army Air Force during WWII. It covers the various (supposed) tactics that the Nazis would use to gather information from American (and other Allied Forces members) pilots and soldiers who are captured. Rather than being a dull, *by the numbers* lesson, however, the filmmakers present a solidly told little story in which the air crew of the mythical B-99 gradually...and presumably unintentionally...give up information that foils the success of a near-future air raid. If you see this, do tolerate a little preaching that occurs at the very end of the film (by an uncredited Lloyd Nolan) since this film WAS intended to teach a lesson; the ending is perfectly suitable for this kind of film. Certainly not on a par with Citizen Kane, but a solid enough piece of film making that deserves to be seen by a wider audience. 7* out of ten.
