The Night of the Generals Reviews

Set against the backdrop of WW II, this hit-and-miss mystery, told in flashback, begins in Warsaw in 1942 with the murder of a prostitute who doubles as an agent for German intelligence. The prime suspects are three German generals--O'Toole, Pleasence, and Gray. When the investigating officer, Sharif, becomes too determined in his pursuit of the culprit, he is transferred. Two years later in Paris, another prostitute is killed. Again Sharif is on hand, but when he confronts the psychotic O'Toole (who is clearly the murderer), the general frames his driver, Courtenay, and then kills Sharif, claiming the latter was involved in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Hitler. Many years later at a neo-Nazi rally, O'Toole, the honored guest recently released from a long prison stay for his war crimes, is confronted by the Paris detective (Noiret) who helped Sharif with his 1944 murder investigation. What's more, the Frenchman has brought along Courtenay, who has identified the former general as the killer. THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS is not entirely successful in its attempt to parallel individual killings with the sanctioned mass murder of war, chiefly because of its frequently confusing multiple-flashback structure and O'Toole's less than effective performance. Still, most of the other performances are strong, and the film does offer a few terrific moments, including the dramatic confrontation between Sharif and O'Toole.