36 Hours
Encyclopedia
36 Hours is a 1965 American
suspense film, based on the short story "Beware of the Dog
" by Roald Dahl
, starring James Garner
, Eva Marie Saint
, and Rod Taylor
, and directed by George Seaton
. An American officer is deceived into believing that he has suffered from amnesia
and that World War II
has ended years ago in an effort to get him to reveal a vital secret.
final briefing concerning D-Day, U.S. Army Major
Jefferson Pike is sent from London to confirm with a German double agent he has recruited in Lisbon
that the Nazis still expect the invasion in the wrong place. However, Pike falls into a trap; he is drugged into unconsciousness.
When Pike wakes up, he is in what seems to be a US Army hospital. His hair is graying and he now needs glasses to read
. He is told it is 6 years later and the hospital is in postwar, occupied Germany
, yet he has no memory of the intervening period. The psychiatrist handling his case, Major Walter Gerber, explains that he has been having episodes of memory loss for the past few years, ever since he sustained physical trauma in Portugal in June 1944. He advises Pike not to worry, as his blocked memories have always resurfaced within a few weeks, helped along by a treatment that mostly consists of remembering events prior to Lisbon, and then pushing on into the blank period. Gerber is assisted by a nurse, the dispassionate Anna Hedler.
To support the illusion that he has been a hospital patient for some time, Pike is provided with letters supposedly written by his father, and photos of his parents — Gerber has been researching Pike for many months to prepare for this event — and Hedler tells Pike she is his wife.
Pike is completely taken in, and is gratified that his pre-Lisbon memories, at least, are intact and clear. For instance, he remembers the D-Day
briefing as if it happened only yesterday. As part of the therapy, he recounts the details of the D-Day invasion, particularly the all-important location of Normandy (rather than Pas de Calais, as believed by the German high command) as well as the date, June 5, to Gerber and Otto Schack.
Pike finally realizes that it is all a hoax when he notices that a nearly-invisible paper cut he got in 1944 has not healed yet. Gerber, as it turns out, is a German-American who had returned to the Fatherland to serve the Nazi cause. He likes Pike and readily admits the deception. He says he originally developed genuine techniques to treat amnesia and they had been perverted to this purpose. Pike's hair had been dyed, of course, and an injection of atropine
had impaired his close vision. However, when Pike claims he knew the truth all along and his statements about Normandy were a cover story, Gerber is skeptical.
With the assistance of Anna, who is actually a concentration camp inmate, Pike manages to convince SS officer Schack that he knew all along that it was a ruse. Schack now believes the invasion will be at Calais. Gerber, though, does not, so he plays one last trick, setting the clock in Pike's room ahead several hours. When Pike thinks the invasion has already begun, he lets his guard down and confirms Gerber's suspicions about the Normandy invasion. Gerber then sends an emergency dispatch, which Schack intercepts and disregards, even suggesting that Gerber may be a double agent. As it happens, the weather is too rough and Eisenhower postpones the invasion a day, discrediting Gerber, and Schack orders Gerber's arrest.
Gerber knows that Schack will return to kill them when the Normandy information proves correct, so that his blunder is not revealed. The doctor secretly lets Anna and Pike go, asking Pike to take his psychological research papers on true amnesiacs with him to the West. After he hears the news of the Normandy landing on the 6th, he then takes poison. When Schack shows up, Gerber tries to shoot him but dies too soon. Schack pursues the escaped couple alone, ordering his men to follow when they are assembled.
During their escape, Anna tells Pike of her abuse in the camp, which has left her emotionless. She and Pike go to the local minister, where they are referred to a frankly corrupt, middle-aged German border guard, Sgt. Ernst, who is willing to help them cross the border in return for Pike's watch and Hedler's gold ring. Ernst gives Elsa, the minister's housekeeper, the ring. After the couple and Ernst head for the border, Schack shows up at the ministry. When he sees Hedler's gold ring on Elsa’s finger, he forces her to tell him where to find the escapees. Schack catches up with Pike and Hedler at the border, but Ernst shoots him because he doesn't want Schack to mess up his human smuggling business. Ernst and Pike arrange Schack’s body to make it look as if he had been killed while trying to escape.
Safely in Switzerland, Pike and Hedler are put in separate cars. Pike is told he will be taken to the U.S. embassy, while Hedler's fate is not as certain. Hedler cries, her first display of emotion in years. In the final scene, the cars come to a fork in the road, with one turning left to the American embassy and the other veering to the right, to a refugee camp.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
suspense film, based on the short story "Beware of the Dog
Beware of the Dog (short story)
Beware of the Dog is a 1944 World War II story by Roald Dahl which was originally published in Harper's Magazine and later appeared in his Over to You collection...
" by Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
, starring James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
, Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint is an American actress who has starred in films, on Broadway, and on television in a career spanning seven decades. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama film On the Waterfront , and later starred in the thriller film North by...
, and Rod Taylor
Rod Taylor (actor)
Rodney Sturt "Rod" Taylor is an Australian-American actor of film and television.-Early life:Born on 11 January 1930 in Lidcombe, a suburb of Sydney, Taylor was the only child of William Sturt Taylor, a steel construction contractor and commercial artist, and the former Mona Thompson, a writer of...
, and directed by George Seaton
George Seaton
George Seaton was an American screenwriter, playwright, film director and producer, and theatre director.Born George Stenius in South Bend, Indiana, Seaton moved to Detroit after graduating from college to work as an actor on radio station WXYZ. John L...
. An American officer is deceived into believing that he has suffered from amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
and that World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
has ended years ago in an effort to get him to reveal a vital secret.
Plot
Having attended General Eisenhower'sDwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
final briefing concerning D-Day, U.S. Army Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Jefferson Pike is sent from London to confirm with a German double agent he has recruited in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
that the Nazis still expect the invasion in the wrong place. However, Pike falls into a trap; he is drugged into unconsciousness.
When Pike wakes up, he is in what seems to be a US Army hospital. His hair is graying and he now needs glasses to read
Presbyopia
Presbyopia is a condition where the eye exhibits a progressively diminished ability to focus on near objects with age. Presbyopia’s exact mechanisms are not known with certainty; the research evidence most strongly supports a loss of elasticity of the crystalline lens, although changes in the...
. He is told it is 6 years later and the hospital is in postwar, occupied Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, yet he has no memory of the intervening period. The psychiatrist handling his case, Major Walter Gerber, explains that he has been having episodes of memory loss for the past few years, ever since he sustained physical trauma in Portugal in June 1944. He advises Pike not to worry, as his blocked memories have always resurfaced within a few weeks, helped along by a treatment that mostly consists of remembering events prior to Lisbon, and then pushing on into the blank period. Gerber is assisted by a nurse, the dispassionate Anna Hedler.
To support the illusion that he has been a hospital patient for some time, Pike is provided with letters supposedly written by his father, and photos of his parents — Gerber has been researching Pike for many months to prepare for this event — and Hedler tells Pike she is his wife.
Pike is completely taken in, and is gratified that his pre-Lisbon memories, at least, are intact and clear. For instance, he remembers the D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
briefing as if it happened only yesterday. As part of the therapy, he recounts the details of the D-Day invasion, particularly the all-important location of Normandy (rather than Pas de Calais, as believed by the German high command) as well as the date, June 5, to Gerber and Otto Schack.
Pike finally realizes that it is all a hoax when he notices that a nearly-invisible paper cut he got in 1944 has not healed yet. Gerber, as it turns out, is a German-American who had returned to the Fatherland to serve the Nazi cause. He likes Pike and readily admits the deception. He says he originally developed genuine techniques to treat amnesia and they had been perverted to this purpose. Pike's hair had been dyed, of course, and an injection of atropine
Atropine
Atropine is a naturally occurring tropane alkaloid extracted from deadly nightshade , Jimson weed , mandrake and other plants of the family Solanaceae. It is a secondary metabolite of these plants and serves as a drug with a wide variety of effects...
had impaired his close vision. However, when Pike claims he knew the truth all along and his statements about Normandy were a cover story, Gerber is skeptical.
With the assistance of Anna, who is actually a concentration camp inmate, Pike manages to convince SS officer Schack that he knew all along that it was a ruse. Schack now believes the invasion will be at Calais. Gerber, though, does not, so he plays one last trick, setting the clock in Pike's room ahead several hours. When Pike thinks the invasion has already begun, he lets his guard down and confirms Gerber's suspicions about the Normandy invasion. Gerber then sends an emergency dispatch, which Schack intercepts and disregards, even suggesting that Gerber may be a double agent. As it happens, the weather is too rough and Eisenhower postpones the invasion a day, discrediting Gerber, and Schack orders Gerber's arrest.
Gerber knows that Schack will return to kill them when the Normandy information proves correct, so that his blunder is not revealed. The doctor secretly lets Anna and Pike go, asking Pike to take his psychological research papers on true amnesiacs with him to the West. After he hears the news of the Normandy landing on the 6th, he then takes poison. When Schack shows up, Gerber tries to shoot him but dies too soon. Schack pursues the escaped couple alone, ordering his men to follow when they are assembled.
During their escape, Anna tells Pike of her abuse in the camp, which has left her emotionless. She and Pike go to the local minister, where they are referred to a frankly corrupt, middle-aged German border guard, Sgt. Ernst, who is willing to help them cross the border in return for Pike's watch and Hedler's gold ring. Ernst gives Elsa, the minister's housekeeper, the ring. After the couple and Ernst head for the border, Schack shows up at the ministry. When he sees Hedler's gold ring on Elsa’s finger, he forces her to tell him where to find the escapees. Schack catches up with Pike and Hedler at the border, but Ernst shoots him because he doesn't want Schack to mess up his human smuggling business. Ernst and Pike arrange Schack’s body to make it look as if he had been killed while trying to escape.
Safely in Switzerland, Pike and Hedler are put in separate cars. Pike is told he will be taken to the U.S. embassy, while Hedler's fate is not as certain. Hedler cries, her first display of emotion in years. In the final scene, the cars come to a fork in the road, with one turning left to the American embassy and the other veering to the right, to a refugee camp.
Cast
- James GarnerJames GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
as Major Jefferson F. Pike - Eva Marie SaintEva Marie SaintEva Marie Saint is an American actress who has starred in films, on Broadway, and on television in a career spanning seven decades. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama film On the Waterfront , and later starred in the thriller film North by...
as Anna Hedler - Rod Taylor as Major Walter Gerber
- Werner PetersWerner PetersWerner Peters was a German film actor. He appeared in 102 films between 1947 and 1971.Peters was born in Werlitzsch, Kreis Delitzsch, Prussian Saxony, and died of a heart attack on a promotion tour for his latest film in Wiesbaden, Germany.His film career started with the lead in Wolfgang...
as Otto Schack - John BannerJohn BannerJohn Banner , born Johann Banner, was an American film and television actor, who was born and died in Vienna, Austria....
as Ernst - Russell ThorsonRussell Thorson----Russell Thorson , was an American actor, perhaps best known for his co- starring role as Det. Lt. Otto Lindstrom in the ABC late '50's hit crime series, The Detectives- Career :Born in Wisconsin, USA...
as General Allison - Alan NapierAlan NapierAlan William Napier-Clavering was an English actor, best known for portraying Alfred Pennyworth in the 1960s live-action Batman television series.-Early life and career:...
as Colonel Peter MacLean - Oscar Beregi, Jr.Oscar Beregi, Jr.Oscar Beregi, Jr. was a Hungarian-born film and television actor. He was the son of actor Oscar Beregi, Sr...
as Lieutenant Colonel Karl Ostermann (as Oscar Beregi) - Ed Gilbert as Captain Abbott
- Sig RumanSig RumanSig Ruman was a German-American actor known for his comic portrayals of pompous villains.-Life and career:...
as a German guard - Celia LovskyCelia LovskyCelia Lovsky was an Austrian American actress. She was born Cäcilie Lvovsky in Vienna, daughter of Bretislav Lvovsky , a minor Czech opera composer...
as Elsa
Background
- D-Day was actually delayed a day because of the inclement weather, which was also a major plot point of the film Garner had made just before this one, The Americanization of EmilyThe Americanization of EmilyThe Americanization of Emily is a 1964 American comedy-drama war film written by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by Arthur Hiller, loosely adapted from the novel of the same name by William Bradford Huie who had been a SeaBee officer on D-Day....
(1964). - Banner's part, which provided the comedy relief in this movie, was the model for his role as another easygoing German soldier, prison guard Sgt. Schultz, in the TV series Hogan's HeroesHogan's HeroesHogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
. - The film was remade as a 1989 TV movie Breaking Point starring Corbin BernsenCorbin BernsenCorbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
. - The plot of the Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
episode "Future Imperfect" is highly reminiscent of 36 Hours. - The plot of the Mission:Impossible episode Encore features a similar stratagem designed to convince gangster Thomas Kroll (William ShatnerWilliam ShatnerWilliam Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
) that it is 1937 in order for him to divulge all that he knows about a murder he committed. - The plot of The PrisonerThe PrisonerThe Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
episode "The Schizoid ManThe Schizoid Man (The Prisoner)The Schizoid Man is an episode of The Prisoner.-Plot:In an extremely complex plot of bluff and double bluff, Number 2 brings a lookalike of Number 6, referred to as "Number 12", to The Village. Number 12 is not a clone, but an "agent" of The Village who happens to bear a very strong resemblance to...
" features a more complex variation of the basic plotline of 36 Hours. - In the plot of the Star Trek Enterprise episode "Stratagem", the protagonists try the same tactic as the Germans in this film.
- In the plot of the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command episode "Lost in Time", the villain Zorg used the same tactic as the Germans used in this film, making Buzz believe his in 1000 years in the future, to take informations about The Star Command Base.
- A 1985 two-part episode of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero entitled "There's No Place Like Springfield" shares a similar plot, in which the character Shipwreck is tricked into believing that six years have passed and COBRA has been defeated, in order for COBRA to extract a formula from his memory.
External links
- Review at The Stop Button
- James Garner Interview on the Charlie Rose Show
- James Garner interview at Archive of American TelevisionArchive of American TelevisionThe Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....