I suppose if you think prison camps in Nazi Germany are funny, then Communist East Germany must be equally comical (Berlin Wall, Iron Curtain, and all that jazz). On rare occasions, a comic genius can turn such human degradations as dictatorships into deft, insightful comedies (such as Woody Allen did with "Don't Drink the Water"). But the people involved in these two "comedy" projects were considerably less talented, and just incredible in their callousness. The TV series "Hogan's Heroes" mocked POW's sufferings by suggesting that their captors were easily bamboozled imbeciles. This film is even more mocking and disrespectful toward Germans who desperately wanted to flee the Marxist tyranny (many of whom gave their lives in the process). Elke Sommers is not to blame; at the time she was paid to be the dimwitted sex object in film after film, and that is precisely what she is here. But this makes her unbelievable as a world-class athlete; she lacks the stamina and mental toughness such people possess. Bob Crane plays up to his abilities (more precisely, DOWN to his INabilities); nothing else could be expected of him except low-brow burlesque. Werner Klemperer really amazes me, though. How such an obviously intelligent man could content himself with such cartoonish nonsense roles as Col. Klink and this pathetic Marxist clod is simply beyond me. How depressing!
