User reviews

George Seaton had already written and directed the very impressive The Counterfeit Traitor when he turned his attention to this absorbing and cleverly-plotted thriller. Once again the film is set during WWII and once again Seaton weaves an exciting story against the backcloth of that intriguing and terrifying period of history.

Major Jefferson Pike (James Garner) is an American intelligence officer who is kidnapped and drugged en route to Lisbon during the days approaching the D-Day Landings. Pike's original mission before his capture was to pass on misleading information to the Germans, intended to trick them into expecting the Allies to storm ashore at Calais rather than the actual intended target area of the Normandy beaches. When Pike awakens, he is unknowingly in a secret compound in Bavaria, and the D-Day attack is still 36 hours away from actually taking place. He is told by disguised Nazi spy, Major Walter Gerber (Rod Taylor), that the war is over and that he has been suffering from amnesiac lapses for the past six years. Gerber's plan is to convince Pike that the war ended years previously with Allied victory and that it is safe to reveal details about the D-Day Landings.... details which would, in fact, be very useful to the German forces in the hours approaching the top-secret Allied attack.

It is a very interesting plot, and is well-handled. Rod Taylor's performance as the slippery Nazi trickster is exceptionally good, while Garner handles his slightly dull role (as the hero with sensitive information which he is unsure about revealing) with efficiency. The crisp black and white photography - unusual for a film made in the Technicolour-obsessed '60s - adds to the film's verisimilitude and sense of period, giving it a documentary-like feel. While the proceedings are stretched out to a rather lengthy 115 minutes, the film doesn't become significantly tedious and manages to keep the viewer excited (even though we know, because of the real-life success of the D-Day invasion, that the audacious Nazi plot is doomed to fail). 36 Hours is a solid, suspenseful yarn which should satisfy anyone who enjoys stories about wartime intrigue and audacious masquerades.

Really enjoyed this film, an engaging mix of psychological banter with pre-D-Day espionage tension.

The best scenes for me were the dialogues between James Garner and Rod Taylor, they'd make a great film on their own. Garner has that amazing combination of intellect and machismo - he can debate the moral aspect of duty and then knock out a guard just as convincingly

Eva Marie Saint's performance is very strong too as the concentration-camp victim unable to express emotion after the trauma that she has experienced. The power of Roald Dahl's writing comes through here, as she acts as a constant reminder to us of the grim realities of the war in the context of the other charismatic characters.

As a matter of record, there were hundreds of soldiers who returned to the States with little memory of what their role was in World War Two. Here in this story called " 36 Hours " an Intelligent's Officer (James Garner) Major Jefferson F. Pike is given the latest secret plans for the Invasion of Normandy and is thereafter sent to Lisbon Portugal to ascertain if the German High Command are chasing the false ruses put out by the Allies. What the U.S Intelligence office does not know is, the Major is unexpectedly kidnapped and sent to Germany to undergo a daring experimental scheme. The Germans' have a highly educated Phychiatrist, Major Walter Gerber (Rod Taylor) who is going to try and convince the Major, that not only is World War II is over, but it is now six years in the future. With the help of Anna Hedler (Eva Marie Saint) heading a highly trained staff of English speaking Germans and a secret, isolated military compound they hope to trick him into revealing the Allies invasion plans. All things go according to plan until the one thing they had hoped would not happen does. Although Garner proves to command the screen with his role, it is Taylor who elicits sympathy for his compassionate character and we discover ourselves rooting for Gerber to succeed. A dramatic film and one which allows the audience to wait impatiently for the hours to be extended. ****

This is one of my all-time favorite films. Fortunately, we have a video store near us where I can rent old films like this and enjoy the creative story whenever I choose. The main plot of this story, along with the various subplots, held my interest from the beginning. After seeing the film just once, I could recall so many of the details because the film is just THAT GOOD! It is a well-casted film and one that I wish would be shown on TV (I can't recall the last time it was) so that others could become aware of this really suspenseful film. I've rented this movie for my kids and my husband to see because it hasn't been televised and I wanted them to be able to experience the same riveting viewing experience that I've enjoyed so many times.

36 Hours is a beautifully made thriller about an American major captured by the Germans in World War II not long before D-Day, and who is drugged and made to age artificially, so that when he wakes up he thinks five years have passed, that the war is over, and that the Americans won. A fake military hospital was made to convince him that this is so, complete with fake newspapers, reporting on the activities of President Wallace, with references to the retired FDR vacationing happily in Warm Springs. The idea behind it all is to get the major to spill the beans about where the Allied troops were going to land in France (indeed, the major does know this, and the Germans know he knows). In this respect the movie is based pretty much on fact. The Germans knew that there was going to be an Allied invasion of the Continent, most likely in France,--but where? Most of the German high command expected the Allies to land in Calais, but they weren't sure. Everything hinged on outfoxing the Allies, so that the Germans would be prepared for what they knew was going to be a massive invasion. But back to the movie: a friendly-seeming doctor, excellently played by Rod Taylor, explains to his "patient", quite convincingly, how he came to "lose" five years of his life. The race is on to find out the truth, only at first the major doesn't know it. He believes what the doctor tells him; but the doctor has his problems, too, which is how to tactfully get the information he needs from his "patient" (actually his captive) without the major knowing it.

James Garner is fine as the major; so good in fact as to make me wonder why his movie career wasn't more successful. Eva Marie Saint is her usual dignified self as the "love interest", though I found her character, once the truth is revealed about her background, hard to believe. Taylor's doctor is much more interesting, but alas gets less screen time. His character is ambiguous; a German-American who has returned to his homeland, where he has managed to get funds to do research, and who is slowly but surely becoming disenchanted with his Nazi superiors. The movie works like a charm for its first roughly two thirds and then falls off somewhat near the end, for reasons I won't give away. Overall, though, this is a very satisfying and somewhat neglected film. Though it doesn't appear to be made on a big budget it's very good in recreating the wartime mood, and in this respect wonderfully retro. It probably seemed a bit old-fashioned when it came out, when James Bond was all the rage; but time has been kind to it, and it plays better today than many of the more hip, sexy movies of the Austin Powers sixties.

This B&W movie "36 Hours" is now being repeated on digital TV quite regularly, and I never tire of watching it. The WW II storyline, written by Roald Dahl & Carl Hittleman, is an odd one. It has to be one of the most implausible, yet somehow believable tales ever to be thought up.

A US "hospital" run by Nazi Intelligence has been set up in Germany to enable secrets to be winkled out from it's "patients" (i.e. prisoners). The gimmick is that the inmates are led to believe that the war has been over for a number of years in favour of the Allies.

The new arrival a certain Maj. Jefferson Pike (James Garner) is an Overlorder (i.e. someone who is "au fait" with the plans of the forthcoming Normandy landings). After being kidnapped in Lisbon he is brought unconscious to the hospital and given necessary ageing treatment. On regaining consciousness he is told that he is suffering from amnesia, and has been a hospital patient for years, but he must now start remembering.

A disguised Wehrmacht psychiatrist Maj. Walter Gerber (an American born German, but a good guy at heart) (Rod Taylor) is given the task of unlocking the valuable knowledge. If he fails, he and his hospital are for the chop. (And the Allies will succeed in their invasion etc. etc.) Anna Hedler, his nurse, and supposedly Pike's wife, is an ex-concentration camp internee (Eve Marie Saint) who will do anything not to be sent back. End of stage one, but will the secrets come out in stage two?...watch the movie to find out.

"36 Hours", ably directed by George Seaton, is an intriguing movie that holds the attention right to the last. It's an intelligent script, complemented by intelligent acting, with suspenseful music holding it all together. Not exactly a classic, but I certainly think it will last the test of time (and on reflection...I suppose it already has done). Personally I love it.

A decent and really intriguing film with fine performances all around -James Garner, Rod Taylor and Eve Marie Saint- make this an agreeable thriller even after that question is answered . Captors Germans abduct an American Major with knowledge of top-secret invasion and he is drugged and tortured by Nazis. The Nazis think he has information on plans for another invasion . He wakes up in an Army hospital with amnesia , as Pike can't remember anything about this . When they can't get the information through torture they attempt something totally different . Pike is also being treated by Dr. Gerber (Rod Taylor) and Diana (Eva Marie Saint) to recover from his memory loss. But Pike begins to think that Dr. Gerber has a different intention for him . They try to convince him that World War II is over , so that they can get details about the Allied invasion of Europe out of him. Then , he's coerced into telling the Nazi Doctor Gerber and his Gestapo overlord (Werner Peters) , all the plans concerning the D-Day landings by allied forces in France. Are they telling the truth or is this an elaborate hoax ?

A nail-biting and enjoyable movie with workmanlike direction and solid interpretations , containing an attractive premise : a high-ranking WWII Army Officer is captured by the Nazis , Pike is then woken up , told the war is over and they want the date of Normandy . But Maj. Jefferson Pike, in a position to lose the entire war for the Allied forces in Europe and he's not sure what's real and what isn't , especially when the doc asks him to explain , in great detail , what happened just before he lost his memory . The main and support cast do reasonable jobs . James Garner is frankly well as Pike , as he is kidnapped, drugged and taken to a supposedly American hospital in what is supposed to be post war Germany . Eva Marie Saint is brilliant as the nurse who cares and deceives him . While Rod Taylor , unusually cast , is the best as an American-speaking dedicated German shrink telling him that war's been over some time . Along with an adequate secondary cast , such as : Werner Peters giving memorable acting as a nasty SS officer , John Banner , Russell Thorson , Sig Ruman and veteran Alan Napier . It had an acceptable but inferior remake with similar plot as interesting in their own right as the original , though really no match for the previous line up of , titled ¨Breaking Point¨(original title1989) by Peter Markle with Corbin Bernsen , Joanna Pacula , John Glover , David Marshall Grant , Lawrence Pressman.

This motion picture 36 Hours was stunningly directed by George Seaton. Professional and polish writer and director who occasionally rose well above his average standard and was twice rewarded with Academy Award for so making . Seaton formed a partnership with William Perlberg , was to produce all Seaton's movies for several years . Both of them produced and directed the following successes as ¨Miracle on 34th Street¨, ¨The country girl¨, a monster Box office as ¨Airport¨ , the warlike movie : ¨Counterfeit traitor¨ and , of course , another unusual War film as ¨36 hours¨ . Rating : 7.5/10 . Above average .

This is one of my favorite WW II movies. It's tag line was GIVE ME THIRTY SIX HOURS and I'll give you a traitor. D-Day is upon the Germans defending The Atlantic Wall. The US is about to launch a colossal invasion force on the European continent, but where will the blow strike? To be sure German agents kidnap American Major Pike (James Garner) from neutral Spain and send him deep into Germany where they've set up a Ptomekin village, a US post in an occupied Germany sometime five years hence. The psychologist an American born German serving in the Wehrmacht is to persuade captured Pike that Pike has been suffering from amnesia for five years and has now recovered his long term memory at the cost of losing his recent memory. The setting is idyllic and the gilted cage is cozy, replete with a faux-wife.

Will Pike see through the German plot? A must see unusually well done spy story.

If you really listen to the very first moments of the opening music, and if you know something of music, then you'll immediately recognize that the Composer (Dmitri Tiomkin ) was not messing around with THIS score. Tiomkin wrote a beautifully impending theme, internally driven, colored with adventure, suspended by taught phrases, and completely in line, and easily telling, of the quality of everything about this movie. ( My thought was that if Tiomkin wasn't messing around, no one else would be messing around either. This movie HAS IT ALL. )

When I heard those first opening passages, especially the quiet and complex timpani part, then I knew I was in for a really OUTSTANDING FILM. So, right then, I put off an important meeting, because I felt the movie would be as good as the music score. If you encounter this movie, put off anything else, except medical emergencies, and WATCH THIS MOVIE. ! !

Life's too short to miss this one, so watch it - NOW ! Yes, NOW !

Well-written with good acting, and a completely implausible fictional plot.

James Garner is, as always, a level-headed, cool, American everyman, except he's also a major in army intelligence. The Germans also know who he is and what he's up to, thanks to their agents in London. The problem with that is, in real-life history, the Allies had found all of the German agents in Britain long before D-Day and turned them into double-agents to feed Germany mostly incorrect info.

Getting past this fact, the Germans then create an elaborate ruse with resources that they did not possess at the time in reality to convince Major Pike (Garner) that he is in an American hospital in 1950 after the war and is suffering from amnesia. It's a pretty suspenseful film until that point.

Great, offbeat WWII thriller from The Spy Who Came in From the Cold Genre. If you've ever wondered where the Sgt. Schultz character developed from Hogan's Heroes - watch and be surprised! Tight Script and excellent performances from Saint, Taylor, and Garner. Filmed in B & W to enhance the intensity.

It wasn't a blockbuster, but is haunting. I still remember the first time I saw it, and remember it every time I ... well, I don't want to reveal any plot points. But it is probably one of the films that triggered my love of mysteries.

By 1960, the studio system and block booking (selling movies in largely mediocre packages to theatres) was dead and movies were competing with television's popularity. There was more to lose in producing a mediocre movie. As a result, for economic as well as artistic reasons, many great films throughout the late fifties and early sixties were still filmed in black and white. 'The Defiant Ones' (1958), 'Fail Safe' (1964), Psycho (1960), 'Cape Fear (1962) and 'To Kill A Mockingbird' (1962) were all box office and critical successes at the same time as the technicolor 'Mary Poppins' (1964) and 'West Side Story' (1963) were wowing audiences. '36 Hours' (1964) is a prime example of a good film that could have easily been done in color (most of it takes place in Yosemite National Park) but for either or both economical and artistic reasons wasn't. A co-production with James Garner's 'Cherokee Productions', Garner had a lot riding on it's success. An intrigung premise involving 'mission impossible' like deception, great writing and powerhouse acting creates for a captivating thriller. A German doctor has only 36 hours to extract vital information about D day from an unsuspecting U.S. intelligence officer. The fact that the plot relys on many a troupe from world war two movies and several contrivances more suited to a 'Twilght Zone' episode shouldn't take away from your pleasure in watching James Garner (fresh off 'The Great Escape' and ten years from 'The Rockford Files'), Eva Marie Saint and Rod Taylor (he filmed 'The Birds' in 1963). John Banner, of 'Hogan Heroes', foreshadows his popular 'Sgt. Schultz' character.

36 Hours is a film that finds James Garner as a major attached to Allied intelligence and to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in London. The best kept secret of World War II was the exact date and location of the cross channel invasion into western Europe. As things get closer to D-Day, the Allies want to make sure the Nazis stay fooled right up to the end.

Which is why Garner goes to Lisbon to check out a source at the German Embassy in neutral Portugal. But the Nazis have been watching him too. While in Lisbon, he meets up with a Mr. Michael Finn at a hotel bar rendezvous which renders him unconscious and Garner is secretly flown to Germany.

The nice things about 36 Hours is that some of the facts about the landings at Normandy are woven very nicely into an intricate espionage story. Incidentally some of the same facts that were used in another Garner classic film, The Americanization of Emily, but in a far more comic vein.

What the Nazis have decided to do is trick Garner into revealing the plans for the imminent invasion. They've set up an elaborate facade of a US. Army Hospital in an occupied Germany in 1950 and when Garner wakes up, they're going to convince him that the war is over and the allies have been victorious. They've even cooked up a love interest in Eva Marie Saint who is formerly a concentration camp inmate and like all of them will do anything to avoid going back.

All this is the brainchild of German doctor Rod Taylor who is convinced that without the usual Nazi like methods Garner can be tricked into revealing vital information. Skeptical about the plan, but willing to go along with it if it succeeds is SS major Werner Peters who played a lovely variety of Nazis in the Sixties.

Of course when Garner does realize this is all a charade it becomes quite a three cornered cat and mouse game between him and Taylor and Peters. The SS has a tried and true motto, they're skeptical in general about information not obtained under torture.

36 Hours is a finely executed espionage and escape drama. The cast is at they're combined very best. But as good as the ones I've mentioned, there is one stunningly droll performance by John Banner, soon to become Sergeant Schultz on Hogan's Heroes. He plays a German version of Dad's Army and he's one of the older generation that hasn't bought into the Nazi way. He's the best in this fine film.

This film was very original with a clever premise. For the most part, they pulled it off rather well. There are a few implausibilities but overall they make it work.

Top notch writing, direction, cast and supporting cast who offer some comedic relief.

36 HOURS is a pretty interesting little film although at times it feels like an episode of a TV show expanded to feature length. James Garner delivers a slightly stilted turn as an American soldier who gets knocked out, only to come round in Nazi Germany. They're desperate to learn of the invasion plans in his brain, to which end they try to convince him he's back in America some six years later. Although Garner doesn't impress here, Rod Taylor is as utterly charming as ever as a slick and yet kindly villain who steals the show. The rest is fairly decent and the second half picks up the suspense quite nicely.

This is one of my favorite movies. It makes you anxious wondering when (or if) Maj. Pike is going to see through the Nazi facade or is going to be duped.

Look for an appearance by John Banner ("Hogan's Heroes"'s Sgt. Schultz) and a brief cameo by James Doohan ("Star Trek"'s Scotty).

George Seaton directed this psychological WWII thriller that stars James Garner as Army Major Jefferson Pike, who is knocked-out and kidnapped by the Germans in an effort to tell them about the forthcoming Allied D-Day invasion plans. Rod Taylor plays German Major Walter Gerber, who concocts an elaborate scheme to fool Pike into believing that the war is now over, with an Allied victory, but that he suffers from amnesia and to recover his memory, must remember the events of the day he last remembers - the day he was taken, and Gerber has only 36 hours to succeed, before the Gestapo takes over... Clever premise and good performances help fanciful story that is also quite talky, yet still intriguing.

Not a bad film, but could have been so much better if the audience wasn't let in on the scheme from the start, but instead learned the truth along with Garner.

The last third was boring filler. Except for 'Sgt. Schultz'.

Also, it would have been a considerate gesture if Jim or Eva Marie pstopped thinking about their own welfare long enough to give the pastor's kindly housekeeper a heads-up that the Nazi's were onto their underground activities. I kept waiting for one of them to say something...But nope!

Need 90 more characters. Now need 52. This is silly. 36 to go, getting closer. And bingo!