The Secret War of Harry Frigg
| The Secret War of Harry Frigg | |
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| Directed by | Jack Smight |
| Produced by | Hal E. Chester |
| Screenplay by | Peter Stone Frank Tarloff |
| Story by | Frank Tarloff |
| Starring | Paul Newman Sylva Koscina |
| Music by | Carlo Rustichelli |
| Cinematography | Russell Metty |
| Editing by | J. Terry Williams |
| Studio | Albion Film Corp. |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | February 29, 1968 |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Secret War of Harry Frigg is a 1968 comedy film set in World War II. It was directed by Jack Smight and starred Paul Newman.
[edit] Plot
Several brigadier generals (American, British, and French) are unexpectedly taken prisoner by the Italians while in the sauna - which is a public relations disaster. The generals are held in an Italian villa. Being all of the same rank, none is in command and they are forced to plan escapes by committee, with predictably ineffective results.
Headquarters devises a plot to free them by sending in Harry Frigg (Paul Newman). Frigg is a private in the U.S. Army who is forever escaping from military stockades. As incentive, he is promised a cushy job after the war. Frigg is promoted to major general so that he will outrank the prisoners. Frigg allows himself to be captured, and is imprisoned in the same jail as the brigadiers. While they are initially skeptical of his rank, he has been given a few personal secrets about them.
Frigg's plan to free all the generals is put on hold when he becomes romantically involved with Countess Francesca De Montefiore (Sylva Koscina), the owner of the castle where they are imprisoned. The escape plans are reactivated when Italy surrenders and the Germans take the generals to a high-security prison camp. Frigg eventually frees them all, and ends the war as a second lieutenant in charge of a radio station, using the countess's castle as its base.
[edit] Cast
- Paul Newman as Private Harry Frigg
- Sylva Koscina as Countess Francesca De Montefiore
- Andrew Duggan as General Newton Armstrong
- Tom Bosley as General Roscoe Pennypacker
- John Williams as General Francis Mayhew
- Charles Gray as General Adrian Cox-Roberts
- Vito Scotti as Colonel Enrico Ferrucci
- Jacques Roux as General Andre Rochambeau
- Werner Peters as Major von Steignitz
- James Gregory as General Homer Prentiss
- Fabrizio Mioni as Lieutenant Rossano
- Johnny Haymer as Sergeant Pozzallo
- Norman Fell as Captain Stanley
- Buck Henry as Stockade Commandant
[edit] External links
- The Secret War of Harry Frigg at the Internet Movie Database
- The Secret War of Harry Frigg at the TCM Movie Database
- The Secret War of Harry Frigg at AllRovi
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