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War thriller

The Night of the Generals (1967): Cast & Plot

The Night of the Generals (1967) movie poster

The Night of the Generals is a 1967 war thriller directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Valentine Dyall as German Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited), Donald O'Brien and Mieczysław Stoor. It runs 2 hours 28 minutes.

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The Night of the Generals (1967) movie poster
Released
Runtime
2h 28m (148 min)
Director
Anatole Litvak
Genres
War , Mystery , Crime , Thriller
Original language
English
After the credits
No No extra scene
The story

What Is The Night of the Generals About?

The premise of The Night of the Generals without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

During World II, a German intelligence officer is tasked with solving the murder of a prostitute in occupied Warsaw. His investigation leads him to three senior Nazi generals, each with their own dark motives, and reveals that two of them are also planning to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

The Night of the Generals Themes & Keywords

· 50 tags
  • homosexual subtext
  • general
  • prostitute
  • murder
  • prostitute killer
  • nazi occupied poland
  • plot to kill hitler
  • world war two
  • stauffenberg bomb plot
  • conspiracy
  • corporal
  • year 1942
+38 more
  • year 1944
  • year 1965
  • hamburg germany
  • nazi germany
  • major
  • reference to vincent van gogh
  • reference to richard wagner
  • reference to frederic chopin
  • nazi occupation
  • warsaw poland
  • paris france
  • warsaw ghetto
  • german army
  • mother daughter relationship
  • father daughter relationship
  • suicide
  • colonel
  • sightseeing
  • driver
  • suitcase bomb
  • van gogh painting
  • reunion
  • cognac
  • art gallery
  • white wine
  • german
  • reference to tolstoy's war and peace
  • reference to friedrich nietzsche
  • reference to war and peace the novel
  • reference to the marquis de sade
  • france
  • bare chested man
  • british actor plays a german character
  • cameo appearance
  • 1940s
  • o'toole and sharif
  • sharif and courtenay
  • justice
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Cast & crew

The Night of the Generals Cast & Characters

Valentine Dyall leads the cast as German Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited), with Donald O'Brien as Plotting German Officer (uncredited) and Mieczysław Stoor as German Wochenschau Reporter (uncredited). Directed by Anatole Litvak; 80 actors are credited in all.

Also Starring in The Night of the Generals

· 76 more
Show all 80 cast members
From the director

More from Anatole Litvak

More films directed by Anatole Litvak, best-rated first: The Snake Pit, The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun, Five Miles to Midnight and Goodbye Again.

Full filmography
Plot

The Night of the Generals Plot Summary

What happens in The Night of the Generals from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 12 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 4-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

In a tense, morally complex thriller set between 1942 and 1965, a brutal murder in German-occupied Warsaw pulls a calculating Abwehr investigator into a long shadow of power and deceit. The case opens with the murder of a prostitute who is also a German agent, drawing in Major Grau (portrayed by Omar Sharif) as he follows a trail that points toward three powerful figures: General von Seidlitz-Gabler (portrayed by Charles Gray), General Kahlenberge (portrayed by Donald Pleasence), and General Tanz (portrayed by Peter O’Toole). Grau’s painstaking questions and cross-checks begin to reveal a conspiracy that could threaten the Nazi machine from within, but the moment he narrows the field, fate intervenes: a sudden promotion and a transfer to Paris cut the investigation short, leaving the truth suspended in the air.

Full summary

The whole story of The Night of the Generals, scene by scene

Read the full summary
Videos

The Night of the Generals Trailers & Videos

The trailer of The Night of the Generals.

The Night of the Generals (1967) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]
Quiz

How Well Do You Know The Night of the Generals?

10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.

Question 1 of 10

  1. Question 1: not answered
  2. Question 2: not answered
  3. Question 3: not answered
  4. Question 4: not answered
  5. Question 5: not answered
  6. Question 6: not answered
  7. Question 7: not answered
  8. Question 8: not answered
  9. Question 9: not answered
  10. Question 10: not answered

Which actor portrays Major Grau, the Abwehr investigator?

Cars

Cars in The Night of the Generals

29 cars on screen, including the 1936 Hispano-Suiza K6 Long and the 1936 Maybach DS8.

All 29 cars
  • 1936 Hispano-Suiza K6 Long in The Night of the Generals 1936 Hispano-Suiza K6 Long Important role
  • 1936 Maybach DS8 in The Night of the Generals 1936 Maybach DS8 Important role
  • 1936 Mercedes-Benz 170 V W136 in The Night of the Generals 1936 Mercedes-Benz 170 V W136 Important role
  • 1940 Volkswagen Kübelwagen Typ 82 in The Night of the Generals 1940 Volkswagen Kübelwagen Typ 82 Important role
Details

The Night of the Generals Also Known As

21 alternative titles, including “Die Nacht der Generäle” and “A Noite dos Generais”.

Also known as
  • Die Nacht der Generäle
  • A Noite dos Generais
  • La noche de los generales
  • Generalernes nat
  • La notte dei generali
  • Tábornokok éjszakája
  • Noc generalów
  • Noaptea generalilor
  • Tank Force
  • 将軍たちの夜
  • La nuit des généraux
  • Die Nacht der Generale
+9 more
  • 将军之夜
  • Ночь генералов
  • Η Νύχτα των Στρατηγών
  • Noc generálů
  • Generallerin Gecesi
  • Noc Generałów
  • Generalernas natt
  • شب ژنرال ها
  • 바르샤바의 밤

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FAQ

The Night of the Generals FAQ: Cast & Runtime

Runtime, release date, director, cast and post-credit scenes of The Night of the Generals, each answered in a sentence.

How long is The Night of the Generals?

The Night of the Generals runs 2 hours 28 minutes (148 minutes).

When was The Night of the Generals released?

The Night of the Generals was released on January 29, 1967.

Who directed The Night of the Generals?

The Night of the Generals was directed by Anatole Litvak.

More films by Anatole Litvak

Who is in the cast of The Night of the Generals?

The Night of the Generals stars Valentine Dyall as German Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited), Donald O'Brien as Plotting German Officer (uncredited) and Mieczysław Stoor as German Wochenschau Reporter (uncredited), among 80 credited actors.

Does The Night of the Generals have a post-credit scene?

No. The Night of the Generals has no extra scene during or after the credits.

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