even more than some mid 60 to early 70 one and this be a wwii film that play around with all the rule . in the murder investigation and it give you a pro hitler general who might not be the killer the detective be seek and and an anti hitler one who might be . and a third one who a semi comical character . it also full of surprisingly funny line ( especially from the donald pleasance character ) and of the understated kind do you really think anyone go to believe you . naturally . i be a general . or yes and he wasn not a wholehearted soldier . i imagine he desert . or i be shatter . what be the point of be a general when corporal wish to remain corporal . and of course it have omar sharif a grau and a genuinely admirable character and even though he too reckless about his own safety ( a in the last 1944 scene ) . and of course it sort of left to the viewer a to whether he right to be completely catch up in a single murder for two year of wwii itself . but a he himself say and he concern with the small scale rather than the large . ( in the book and grau be more concerned with thing like the plot against hitler and but i think the movie handle thing in a more original way and a in the scene where he and morand discuss the subject for a few moment and then grau movie on to something else . ) and philipe noiret a morand and who doesn not care that grau be a wehrmacht officer and any more than grau care that he in the french resistance and not just because theyre colleague and but because theyre not just colleague in a grudging way and the way it be in many similar story . ( in fact and the scene i just mention end with a sort of warm moment between grau and morand . ) and even though some people say that peter otoole be miscast and he really draw you completely into the tanz character . in one scene and tanz even seem to enjoy perplex corporal hartmann he smile slightly and say and any conclusion you may draw from my behavior be false . and every other actor and in big or small part and seem to fit the character very well charles gray and coral brown and joanna petit and john gregson and philp noiret and of course tom courteney a hartmann .