The Secret War of Harry Frigg

In 1943 five senior Allied officers, two American, two British and one French, are taken prisoner by the Italians in North Africa. Because of their exalted rank, the five are kept in a luxurious prison camp, a converted villa in Northern Italy belonging to an aristocratic family. Because all five hold the same rank, one-star General (or its British equivalent, Brigadier), none is in command. They periodically discuss escape plans, but are never able to agree among themselves, and because of their agreeable surroundings have no real desire to escape. The Allied High Command, however, have other ideas, and decide to infiltrate a two-star General into the camp. The idea is that because he outranks the others he will have the authority to order them to escape. The High Command cannot, however, risk a real two-star General, so a private named Harry Frigg is temporarily promoted to that rank. Frigg makes a most unlikely senior commander; he is a malcontent who has a problem with authority, and the most prominent feature of his military record is the number of times he has been court-martialled, generally for insubordination, and the length of time he has spent in military prisons. What makes him suitable for this assignment, however, is that he has a genius for escaping from those prisons. (Paul Newman had a friendly rivalry with Steve McQueen, and I wondered if Frigg was intended as a comic version of McQueen's "cooler king" character from "The Great Escape"). Frigg allows himself to be captured by the Italians, and is assigned to the same prison as the others, and enthusiastically sets about making escape plans. He discovers a secret passage which might be useful, but loses his enthusiasm for escaping when he discovers that the passage leads to the private quarters of the villa's owner, the beautiful Countess Francesca, with whom he falls in love. Things take a turn for the worse, however, when Italy changes sides after the overthrow of Mussolini and the officers are transferred to a much harsher German-run camp. The idea of a comedy set against the backdrop of World War II, or any other war for that matter, might strike some people as inappropriate unless it were to be made as a satirical, anti-war comedy along the lines of "Catch-22". During the war itself, however, humour played an important part in Allied propaganda, generally used to mock the Nazis and their allies, and this was as true of the cinema as any other medium. ("To Be Or Not to Be" is a well-known humorous war film from this period). This tradition continued after the war, particularly in prison-camp dramas like "The Colditz Story" which often contained a strong vein of humour. "The Secret War of Harry Frigg" essentially draws upon this tradition of finding humour even in serious situations and of sending up the Nazis at the same time. (The German Commandant, von Steignitz, is a blustering bully, but it is impossible to take him seriously). Newman is an actor I normally associate more with serious drama, but he did try his hand at comedy occasionally, most famously and most successfully in "The Sting". I wouldn't rate "Harry Frigg" quite as highly as that masterpiece, but he makes an attractive hero and the film is a very watchable and amusing comedy. 7/10 Some goofs. Von Steignitz rips up a copy of the Geneva Convention in front of the captured officers. In fact, the Germans generally respected the Convention as far as the Western Allies were concerned- the Eastern Front was another matter- because it also protected German prisoners held by the British and Americans. An epilogue to the story, set "six months later", shows the villa in Allied hands; as the main story takes place in the summer and autumn of 1943, this must mean that the epilogue is set in the spring of 1944, when Northern Italy would still have been controlled by the Germans and their pro-Mussolini Italian allies.

The storyline of the movie is simple: Escape artist/malcontent private Harry Frigg ( Paul Newman) is made a Major General by Brigadier General Homer Prentiss ( James Gregory) in order to get other Generals to leave their Club Med type prison in an Italian villa. Of course there are two distractions that prevent Harry from completing the mission. One extremely nice the Countess ( played by the very beautiful. Sylva Koscina), the other extremely rotten: The Nazi' ( Major von Steignitz). Of course, the film being a comedy, Harry must win. Which means:,Get the girl, get the generals back to the war, and defeat the Nazi. But what happens in the movie is the character growth of Harry learning from the Countess ( who is actually an average woman who married into royalty ( her husband was killed)), the generals and.their "jailer" Col. Enrico Ferricci ( Vito Scotti), who except for Sylva Koscina ( for entirely different reasons) was the best one in the movie. The funny thing about Harry is he is not stupid and is actually very quick on his feet. When he first meets von Steignitz, who likes Bach, he actually gets him to laugh by saying "You will force me to do something I do not want to do." When von Steignitz asks what is that? Harry says "Listen to Bach." Spoilers ahead; After von Steignitz captures the Generals and Ferrucci ( who became a General but because Italy surrendered was also imprisoned ( but in an actual POW camp)), Harry admits he is not a General and was separated. Why? So he could sneak back in and complete his mission, and capture von Steignitz in the process. Steignitz asked Harry "Are you a Private or a General ?" Harry said "A little of both." He gained von Steignitz's respect: The film ends in Italy with Prentiss having Harry on his staff because Harry had a background in radio and the military needed a location for a radio network. They stopped by the Villa and Harry went to see the Countess and noticed that everything is boarded up she said "Times are rough" and after giving her kisses Harry thought of the perfect idea. Marry her and use the villa as the radio station and charge the military double rent. He said "Homer: I know where to put it. " He then introduced her to Prentiss as.the Contessa Francesca De Montegiore Frigg and was demonstrating with his hands about why the radio station should be there as the film ends. Obviously the next step would be a quick marriage and signing the papers to rent out the villa. Again a very good movie 9/10 stars.

There are not many war comedies, obviously war is not humorous, but it makes for good movies even though it is a fantasy. This is not a very good War Comedy, it's Ok but only average OK. It looks like a vehicle for Paul Newman, who is one of my favourite actors, that's why I watched it in the first place, the trouble with these 'vehicle' films is that usually no one takes them seriously, except maybe a supporting actor who has not yet had much of a career and wants to look good. The star who the 'vehicle' is for is already established so does not feel the need to make much effort, the director and other film staff know the score and are just going along with it as paid employees, even some of the supporting actors are not that bothered, as they all know no one is interested in them, just the star, and that is why I watched it also, so this is why they are only average movies, and this movie is no exception. The story is a good one and makes sense but is let down by an average screenplay, but it has a good ending. Paul Newman does not seem to put much effort into his role, just acts a bit daft, most of the support go along with that, the love interest Sylva Koscina, does seem to make an effort, and is very pretty, but that is why she is there, so that is most of the role before she speaks, but she is still Ok. The one redeeming feature is that of the nationalities that are represented, most actors are from that country, which gives it some authenticity, and also the Germans and Italians when speaking to their own countrymen speak in their own language, again a good point, the film is reasonably well made, but missing some bits, maybe they needed to edit more out to get to the right length ? I like Paul Newman, but this is not one of his better movies, only watch if you are a Paul Newman fan or you are attracted to Sylva Koscina, it's entertaining, but only just.

Kind of a Hogan's Heros without the most obvious low brow comedy. Sylva Koscina is enchanting as the countess... Yummy eye candy in a movie full of men. I'm looking forward to seeing it again, it's been many years. Kind of a fun movie. A fairly bloodless 'war' movie. More of a comedy, somewhere between 'The Great Escape' and 'Hogan's Heros'. Fun, goofy, and serious both... The Italians are running the POW camp... instead of the Germans.. at the time the Italians are about to capitulate to the Allies during WWII.

If you want a good light-hearted laugh, this is it. Always looking for the angle, Harry Frigg is CON-MAN #1!!! Who else can be an imprisoned private and then demand to be made a general, and not just a one star either. Paul Newman's facial expressions really make the character come alive. I really liked two scenes in the movie. The first is when the real generals try to decide if he is legit or not and asks Andrew Duggan to join him in the chimney as he describes an incident involving "Ike" while at West Point. The second is when be BREAKS INTO the concentration camp at night, enters the barracks in a German uniform and utters his line with a thick German accent, "Cheese und crackers, something is r-r-rotten in here!!". The plots and sub-plots lead to a very funny film for any age to view.

The Secret War of Harry Frigg should be shared with everyone. It's a delightful romp, set during WWII. A group of Allied generals have gone at got themselves captured. They find themselves in a pleasant Italian prison camp; a villa, commanded by a former hotelier, Vitto Scotti. The generals are of equal rank, so no one can seem to take command of their "escape" attempts; not that they are trying too hard. Enter Pvt. Harry Frigg. Frigg, a chronic escaper, finds himself promoted above corporal, all the war to major general. He is tasked to lead the generals in an escape and bring them back. This sounds fine and dandy, until Frigg meets the one thing he can't escape, the Contessa. Add the Germans to the mix, and Frigg's plans become even more complicated. Paul Newman is first rate here, showing a flair for comedy that he rarely seems to get a chance to display. He is backed up by a terrific cast of great character actors. The romance with the Contessa is quite charming, with the simple Frigg learning that true nobility comes from within, not from birth. This is a wonderful overlooked gem that deserves to be seen. It's a lighthearted bit of fun, much like Hogan's Heroes, What Did You Do in the War Daddy, and Operation Petticoat. Definitely worth seeking out.

This is a movie that (If possible) should be seen as a Double Feature with "The Pigeon That Took Rome". They are very similar movies (Although I prefer "Pigeon") slightly. They are both movies about the "Fish Out Of Water" American mixed up with an Itallian Woman. What is different, is this film is about learning who you really are and what you can actually be: Countess Francesca De Montefiore (Sylvia Koscina)reached that stage (Being an average woman who married into royalty). MAJOR Spoilers Ahead: This is what will happen to Harry. "Are You A General Or Private?" Harry (Paul Newman) "A Little Of Both". And at the end where Harry tells the Countess "I Still Run Into The Generals From Time To Time, They Are Still Generals, But One Day I Will Get My Bars Back". Harry's plan (With the FULL participation of the Countess), is to marry her, rent the Villa/"Prison" he and the Generals were staying at DOUBLE the rent (That place was the softest definition of a prison possible), and live in the guest quarters with Francesca (Personal note: Mmmmmmm living with Sylvia Koscina, I would have signed up for that "Duty" in an instant). I have little doubt that he would have succeeded in his plan, because not only is he smart (And thinks outside the box), and has the Countess by his side, but has General Prentess (James Gregory), over him (Who knows that Harry can get things done, and made him an officer), finally, he learned quite a bit from Col. Enrico Ferrucci (Vito Scotti), on how to make Generals quite content.

It occurs to me that I saw Joe Pesci do a walk on in this film. It was either in 'Harry Frigg' or another war related movie, perhaps the 'Dirty Dozen.' There's a knock at the door and a high officer, a General, perhaps, beckons and in he (Pesci) walks, stands at attention and delivers a terse, one line message, and departs. Help!

Some of the movies I get to see on movie channels that play older movies are well worth the extra few dollars a month to the cable company. This was one of those movies. Not the greatest movie I've ever seen, but very entertaining, funny in a quirky way, well worth a look.

This must be the equivalent to WW2 escape movies as was the original '67 Casino Royale was to spy movies. i.e incoherent, non-sensical, long, pantomime acting and with no apparent plot. But, Boy! It is ridiculously entertaining, in a Pink Panther-ish way. Throw your preconceived ideas about Paul Newman (who looks schoolboyishly slightly, but endearingly, uneasy) the almost 'Allo, 'Allo (old comedy UK hit TV series set in occupied France) scenarios - but this is wartime Italy, making it more glamorous and picturesque. So, I'm not going to bore you with the details of the cast that includes beautiful women, hammed-up character actors from the UK and elsewhere mixed into a cocktail of chases, gun battles and amusing (rather than hilarious) dialogue. This is a wet Sunday afternoon movie-on-TV type, but without the slush and if you go make a cup of tea, do a spot of D.I.Y and walk the dog, you can come back into it and you'll be still be entertained.