theowinthrop
This was a very good series shown on "Masterpiece Theater" over a quarter century ago.In World War II both the Allies and the Axis used any means possible to undermine the other side's war efforts. The notorious Nazi leader, Reinhard Heydrich, came up with a scheme to attack the British Economy by massive forgery. Heydrich was assassinated in 1942 (see HITLER'S MADMAN) and the scheme was actually pushed by S.S. General Walter Schallenberg. It was not just making perfect copies of the notes used in England, but the carefully constructed code of identification numbers used by the Bank of England to verify their own notes.In this series, Private Gerhart Schultz (Michael Elphick) is a professional criminal in civilian life who has been drafted into the Wehrmacht. Soon he is put under the command of S.S. Major Neuheim (Ian Richardson, in his best television role before he became England's most diabolical Prime Minister, Francis Urquart, in HOUSE OF CARDS). Neuheim is a totally committed Nazi. But this has it's bad points and it's bad points. When he is given an assignment he will pursue it come hell or high water. But he is so committed that he will frequently lose sight of reality to achieve his goal.The result is that his relationship to Schultz is actually worse than that of Col. Klink's with Col. Hogan's on HOGAN'S HEROES. Klink was a career army officer - not a died-in-the-wool believer in Nazi theory. He could ease off on Hogan to share a confidence for awhile. Neuheim will use Schultz to achieve an aim, only to find that Schultz has taken some advantage of this to feather his nest (setting up a fancy brothel for Nazi officials at one point) and have to waste time reining in the Private. But because of fate, Schultz is too important to send to the Russian Front - but there are other ways of punishing.In this story, it is Neuheim, not Reinhard Heydrich, who came up with the plan. He is talking to Schultz, who happens to mention several close Pre-war friends of his (mostly Jewish like Cyril Shaps, as Solly) who were counterfeiters, and quite good at their work. Neuheim gets the idea that these men might be of use (temporarily) to the Reich to fake British currency (the five - pound note) and send the British economy into a nose-dive. He writes up his plan, and sends it to his superiors, and it goes all the way to Hitler.There is a good scene in the show (totally unexpected for one who thinks of Hitler only as a ranter and screamer) where "Der Fuhrer", from a pragmatic point of view, displays more sense than a financial adviser. Hitler (Gawn Grainger) calls Neuheim and a leading Reichbank official to a meeting about Neuheim's clever plan. The official is horrified - the British pound is the key financial standard of the world (this is 1941, remember), and it's security is sacred. A bemused Hitler and Neuheim watch as the official leaves the room. Der Fuhrer turns to Neuheim and discusses the difficulties of the plan, and how it probably won't work. But then he describes a discussion he had with an airplane designer about bumble bees. It seems that bumble bees, from their physical design, should not be able to fly...and yet they do! Hitler doesn't care about how everyone pegs their economic units on the "sacred" pound. This is war- go ahead and try to destroy the British economy! So Schultz gets together with Solly ("fresh" from a concentration camp, mind you) and Solly gets all of his best fellow counterfeiters from the camps, and they are set up (under far better - if temporary - conditions) working on those pound notes. An college professor is brought in to break the serial number code used by the Bank of England (and actually does figure it out). And the plans are under way. We watch the scheme progress, with Schultz used to plant the money in England and spread it (he is captured after he buries the money - he has plans for it himself after the war) and interrogated by a British Secret Service man (also played by Richardson, who has several roles in the series). Schultz escapes back to Germany (much to Neuheim's disgust). And so it goes, with one attempt after another to spread the fake money. By the time the show concludes the money has been buried, dumped in a lake, split between greedy American and British intelligence officers (who realize this is too good to pass up - they are fine counterfeit jobs), and sought after into the post-war period.Schultz is a decent sort - he helps Solly and his associates escape from being returned to the death camps. He also tries to cheer up Neuheim as the war ends so disastrously. "Well, Colonel", he says, "the Third Reich is at an end. People will miss it!" And a running romance between Gerhart and Daisy (Eve Bland), a prostitute from the bordello he set up, ends happily for both of them. But the fortune in forged, perfect bank notes eludes him until the last moment of the show, when he momentarily gets to use one. It is taken from him by a steward on a boat, with a familiar face.
robert-632
I have fond memories of this series and wish it would be released on DVD. It was my first experience of the great Ian Richardson and the amazing Billie Whitelaw. Michael Elphick was perfect as the bungling loser of the title role, but he was effortlessly upstaged by Richardson and Whitelaw (there was a sense of powerful engines idling). And don't forget that the writer Jack Pulman also wrote the 1976 series "I, Claudius". If you liked "don't eat the figs" you'd probably enjoy this show.Far from considering it repulsive, I would place it on my shelf next to Benigni's "Life Is Beautiful", in the category "endurance of the spirit in a dehumanizing world". Not a work of genius perhaps, but far superior to the silly "Allo! Allo!" (which I also enjoyed).
Steve Ressel
To find this mini-series repulsive is ridiculous. Its a more intricate and enjoyable version of 'Hogans Heroes'. Taken from some actual plots used by Nazis during the war, it uses brilliant writing, acting and producing to twine a tale of counterfeiting to smash the English currency and topple the war into Germany's favor.Brilliant humor. It should be released of DVD!
JerryP-2
This one is priceless. While it is done definitely tongue-in-cheek, this is based on actual events during the Second World War. The Nazis were successful in creating counterfeit British currency, and with it they intended to destroy the British economic monetary systems. Unfortunately, they counted too heavily on Private Schultz.Ian Richardson does a wonderfully evil SS officer -- and the rest of the cast isn't bad either. You have to see this one for yourself.
