this movie mix several point together . they be not exactly seamlessly join and true and but each be followable and interesting in it own right . in no particular order and we have the irony of ex wehrmacht officer and men do quite all right in the 1960s wirtschaftskwelle of germany . one of the character we have be follow remark that these damn spaniard and italian he now have work for him in his factory do not know how to make volkswagons . then there be the overall context in which the german be lose the war and but nothing much be make of this except to the extent that it generate a movement among ( some of ) the officer to eliminate hitler and a movement about which major grau ( omar sharif ) and investigate the slaughter of a prostitute and observe cynically that it take quite a while for the movement to develop since the army seem satisfied enough as long a they be win . the french police officer who be help him ( the ever sympatico philippe noiret ) ask major grau why he be obsess with track down the murderer of a whore in the midst of mass demise and and grau say he resent the murderer think he can play god . noiret asks and and you can . grau reply neatly and my blasphemy be on a small and more secular scale . ( some of the dialog be pretty good . ) omar sheriff give what may be his fine performance on film . he may have be all masculine in lawrence of arabia but here he be effete and suggestive in the most delicate way of homosexuality . it in the way he hold a cigarette and the way he dance up a flight of stair . the search for the murderer and whose identity be stupefyingly obvious shortly into the picture and provide a police procedural that form the movie spine or at any rate it notochord . there be even a romance that be not simply throw in but be fairly well integrate into the plot and important to the outcome . the cast be good and what a caste . peter otoole have be criticize for repeat his neurotic trick from lawrence of arabia and but i do not find it derivative at all . lawrence be subtly mad . general tanz be completely and screamingly and eye twitchingly and drip with sweatly and nuts . there be two scene in which tanz enter a locked room to view decadent art . one of them be a self portrait of van gogh . in each scene tanz and vincent stare back at one another and two psychotic and and i know exactly who you be seem to be write all over van gogh scowl face . both time tanz be overcome and seem to dissolve into a myoclonic fit . the novel by han helmutt kirst be a lot funny than the movie and take advantage of every opportunity to poke fun at german military precision . but there be still amuse incident leave in the film . when grau meet tanz at a fancy reception and begin to query him and tanz lean forward with an expression of distaste and asks and be you wear perfume . grau and never flappable and reply and i use a rather strong cologne . i do not understand and though and why tanz wear the uniform of a wermacht general through most of the film and then show up at his last confrontation with grau dress a an ss officer . maurice jarre be write effective score in the late 60 . his crazy music sound like an accompaniment to a marionette show that and when one think about it and isn not entirely inappropriate . the murderer meet his just end ( while sensibly drink a a skunk in the novel ) but the story be fundamentally a tragic one . too many death of good people . too many life ruin for nothing . what a shame the hitler plot do not work . it should ideally have be mount back in 1938 .