Horst Ebersberg Movies

"Consider the possibilities," read the ads for Paul Mazursky's 1969 satirical comedy about what happens when the sexual revolution hits affluent bourgeois life. After a weekend of "beautiful" emotional honesty at an Esalen-type retreat, married wannabe hipsters Bob (Robert Culp) and Carol (Natalie Wood) return to their well-heeled Los Angeles life determined to apply the principles of free love and complete openness to their marriage. To the respective curiosity and repulsion of their married best friends, Ted (Elliott Gould) and Alice (Dyan Cannon), Bob and Carol have affairs that they happily reveal to everyone. Inspired by all that openness during the quartet's trip to Vegas, Ted admits an affair of his own, provoking the outraged Alice to demand that this new ethos be taken to its obvious conclusion: a mate-sharing foursome. Once they're bedded down and ready to go, however, they start to have second thoughts. Without sacrificing authenticity for comedy, first-time director Mazursky and co-writer/producer Larry Tucker delve into the confusion of the Eisenhower generation when faced with the temptations of the counterculture. Too old to be hippies and too young to be fogies, the would-be California swingers sincerely attempt to try on the lifestyle, but it never looks quite right. A then-controversial example of the New Permissiveness both onscreen and off, Bob & Carol debuted at the New York Film Festival to great praise, particularly for Gould and Cannon. Whether they wanted to laugh at their elders' faux looseness or see what their peers might be doing, audiences turned Bob & Carol into a substantial hit, and its observations about marriage and sex remain humorously sharp even if the encounter group jargon is past its vogue. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

This World War II comedy finds Harry Frigg (Paul Newman) as the unwilling volunteer slated to rescue five generals from the clutches of the Germans and Italians. Frigg would rather spend his time goofing off than fighting the war, but his superiors make him a fake general and pack him off to retrieve the top brass. He has a romantic interest in the Countess (Sylva Koscina), an Italian beauty who helps Harry locate the missing officers. Tom Bosley, Andrew Duggan, Charles D. Gray, Jacques Roux and John Williams are the five generals who carry most of the comedy. Normal Fell and Buck Henry excel in small roles as well. General Prentiss (James Gregory) is the brains behind the plan that finds the frustrated Frigg rise to the occasion when he reluctantly accepts his assignment. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Day upon day of round-the-clock patrols has everyone in King Company on edge. When the sleep-deprived squad is ordered to capture a German prisoner on a dismal, rainy night, the pent-up tension and hostility explodes in a most dangerous fashion. Loyal Combat fans will be startled by the scenes in which the squad's two most laid-back soldiers, Caje (Pierre Jalbert) and Littlejohn (Dick Peabody), all but threaten to murder each other! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Captured by the Germans (again!), Saunders (Vic Morrow) manages to escape from a POW train in the company of cowardly American soldier Decker (Tom Skerritt). Seriously wounded in the escape, Saunders knows that he cannot rely upon his "companion" for aid--and worse, the Germans have sent a vicious pack of dogs after both men. The situation becomes graver still when Saunders is recaptured and injected with mind-altering drugs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Receiving a "Dear John" letter from his hometown girlfriend Mary Jane, Sgt. Carter asks Col. Hogan's permission to escape from Stalag 17. Hogan allows him to do so -- on the proviso that Carter help out on one final sabotage mission. As it turns out, however, Carter is happier as a POW than as a scorned sweetheart. Written by Laurence Marks, "Request Permission to Escape" originally aired on April 29, 1966, as the final episode of Hogan's Heroes' first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A wounded Littlejohn (Dick Peabody) awakens to find that he's been kidnapped by four scruffy French children. As a means of survival, the enterprising youngsters intend to "sell" Littlejohn to the highest bidder, just as they've done with several other American and German prisoners in the past. Despite its title, this is not a "cute" episode by any means: the scene in which one of the children grabs a gun and kills an intruder is one of the most harrowing in the series' history. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a plot reminiscent of a key scene in The Longest Day, American paratrooper Riddell (David Scheiner) finds himself trapped when his chute gets caught on a church spire. Entering the church to cut Riddell down, Saunders (Vic Morrow) and his men are themselves trapped by the sudden arrival of enemy troops. There is nothing for Saunders to do but hide in the the shadows of the church--and pray that the Germans do not get to Riddell before he does. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Saunders (Vic Morrow) and his men are assigned to provide coverage for a wire-laying team led by Communications Sergeant Barney McKloskey (played by a pre-Hawaii 5-0 Jack Lord). Openly contemptuous of the Infantry, McKloskey is certain that Saunders will be of no help at all. Later on, a sniper kills one of McKloskey's men, which serves only to confirm his suspicions. This is one of several Combat episodes in which two antagonists must set aside their differences and unite against a common enemy--before it's too late. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1950, Maj. Jefferson Pike (James Garner), an Army intelligence agent who served with distinction in World War II, awakens in a hospital with severe amnesia. He isn't sure where he is, how he got there, or even who the woman at his side is, even though the doctor tells him that her name is Anna (Eva Marie Saint) and that she is his wife. The doctor instructs Pike to recall, in as much detail as possible, what he was doing before the accident that caused his traumatic memory loss. But the doctor isn't a doctor, Anna isn't Pike's wife, it isn't 1950, and he isn't in an American hospital. World War II is still very much in progress, and Pike is being duped in an elaborate scheme prepared by Maj. Walter Gerber (Rod Taylor), a German intelligence agent. Gerber is trying to trick a drugged and suggestible Pike into telling him everything he knows, as the injured soldier lies in a Bavarian military hospital after being taken prisoner. Will Pike be able to see through the cracks in Gerber's facade before he spills the beans that could mean death and defeat for American soldiers? 36 Hours was later remade for TV under the title Breaking Point. TV fans will want to keep an eye peeled for bit parts by James Doohan from Star Trek and John Banner from Hogan's Heroes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide