The Night of the Generals

Outraged Nazi general to German major: 'Are you wearing perfume?' 'I occasionally wear a light after-shave, sir.' O'Toole and Sharif utter lines like these with absolutely straight faces in what is ostensibly about the generals' plot to assassinate Hitler. There's also a subplot involving a prostitute murderer (quite obviously O'Toole, since he's nutty as a fruitcake). O'Toole's performance is as over the top as it was in The Ruling Class, but this film (also an analysis of the elite) is far funnier since it takes itself so seriously. Ignore the plot, just revel in the clichés. (From the novel by Hans Helmuth Kirst.) CPe.