Hogan's Heroes (TV Series) What Time Does the Balloon Go Up? (1968) User Reviews

A funny script for such a far-fetched plot.

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 21 August 2014]

When a British spy steals some secret maps and documents, he makes his way to Stalag 13 so that he can return to London with the papers. The problem is that he has brought half of the Gestop with him. It will be difficult to get the spy out of the camp and back with the critical information the Allies need.

With all the roads and woods heavy guarded, Hogan will have to come up with a way of getting the spy out of camp. He comes up with the idea of a hot air balloon. But with the camp under Gestapo control , he will have to do the work right under their nose. Hogan comes up with some inventive ways of getting the job done.

Even though the idea of getting a man from the camp to near the coast in a balloon is far-fetched, the scenes leading up to the escape are quite funny. There is some nicely written jokes along the way that makes this otherwise fantasy plot entertaining. Good watch.

Zany plot with many really funny lines

[FlushingCaps · 9/10 · 6 July 2020]

Let's see: Someone hiding in the Heroes' tunnels has important papers that need to go with him to London pronto. Hogan & Co. cannot send him out in any of the 143 ways used previously, so as they ponder the problem, someone makes an offhand comment about one way they cannot accomplish this goal. Hogan immediately seizes on that thought and has an instant plan for getting the man out inspired by that comment. To accomplish this, they will need some diversion, such as a fire, to occupy the Germans to allow this mission to be accomplished.

There-I've just described about one-third of this series' episodes, including this one. But because of the wild manner in which the mission is accomplished, this episode is one of the funniest ones in the series. Here, the Gestapo (Major Hochstetter) has shut down the camp so even Col. Klink is not allowed to leave, not while the major is searching for the spy who took important papers.

Our gang gets permission from Klink to have a basket-weaving contest. Others are assigned to fly a kite and pitch a tent. The men all think Hogan has cracked until he explains what all these things really mean-that they are going to build a hot air balloon to fly the man out of camp over the heads of all the Germans searching for him in the woods near camp.

The funniest scene was Klink judging the basket weaving, including his thinking that the large one that is to carry the man away was so big that it was ridiculously useless.

Hochstetter comes on another scene just in time to see Klink holding a kite that he took from Schultz and Hochstetter cannot believe they have time for such nonsense.

Of course, this silly episode could not be taken seriously. They had to release it from camp and somehow hope the wind would take the balloon (presumably northwesterly) toward the coast. Given that most winds come from that direction, they must have been extremely lucky the wind was from the southeast that night. Also, as shown, the balloon had no device inside to re-heat the air, (remember it is always winter at Stalag 13) and so it would not fly too far before it cooled and descended, even if he dropped the sand bags they had attached.

Usually, the Germans are quick to notice parachutists or packages dropping from planes, but somehow they would never be checking in the night sky during the long time this slow-moving balloon would be flying overhead, so as presented, once they got the balloon away from camp, he was safe. Sure.

But as I said, there were many funny lines connected with the whole crazy plot-a 9 out of 10.