36 Hours

Called “an ingenious thriller” by The New Yorker, this 1965 film is based on the premise of an American intelligence officer being kidnapped and drugged by the Nazis in 1944, six days before D-Day. He is spirited to Germany, where he is made to believe he is recovering from amnesia in an American military hospital in 1949, after the war has ended in victory for the Allies. In the process of his “recovery,” he unwittingly reveals the plans for and details of the invasion. This seldom-seen classic stars James Garner, Rod Taylor and Eva Marie Saint. In a preview of things to come, John Banner plays an overweight, overage German guard. Later that same year, Banner began starring in his career-defining role as Sgt. Schulz on the TV sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes.”  “36 Hours” is anything but a “sitcom.” This is an intriguing and thought-provoking mystery set during WW II, and it’s well worth watching.