Me and the Colonel
Directed by Peter Grenville
Written by S.N. Behrman and George Froeschel from a play by Franz Werfel
1958/USA
William Goetz Productions
First viewing/YouTube
“My faceless neighbor spoke up: “Don’t be deluded. Hitler has made it clear that he will annihilate all Jews before the clock strikes twelve.” I exploded: “What do you care what he said? Would you want us to consider him a prophet? His cold eyes stared at me. At last he said, wearily: “I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people.” ― Elie Wiesel, Night
Despite its grim subject matter, this is a charming film with my favorite performance yet by Danny Kaye.
S.L. Jacobowsky (Kaye) is a man without a country, having fled Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia in succession. He finds himself in Paris just as the Nazis begin their occupation of France. He lives in the same hotel as Colonel Prokoszny (Curd Jurgens), a proud, arrogant, and womanizing Polish Count. Prokoszny has orders to deliver secret papers to the resistance in England. He is to meet a submarine on the French coast.
Both men need to flee, only there are no available vehicles and no gasoline. The resourceful Jacobowsky rounds up both the car and the gas. That kind of thing is beyond Prokoszny so the pair end up sharing the trasportation. They prove to be a very odd couple, not least because of the Pole’s anti-Semitism. First, Prokoszny insists on picking up his one true love in the opposite direction. The rest of the film follows the party’s adventures en route to the border. With Akim Tamiroff as the Colonel’s orderly.
Plot summary aside, this is actually a comedy. Kaye is wonderful, subtle and touching in his part and Jurgens reveals an unexpected comic flair. It reminded me a little bit of how Lubitsch handled To Be or Not To Be. Recommended.
Montage of stills set to music from the film
