Wake Me When the War Is Over (1969) (TV)

I'm not even sure why I watched this, 22 July 2015

Lt. Roger Carrington (Ken Berry) accidentally falls out of a plane behind German lines. He is taken in by Baroness Marlene (Eva Gabor) who falls in love with him. He can't speak German, so he's dependent upon her for news of the war. She never tells him the war's ended because she's afraid he'll leave. She goes to great lengths to convince him the Germans are still looking for him. About four year later, with the help of a sympathetic maid, Carrington escapes and decides to do what he can for the Allied war effort. 

I'm not even sure why I watched this. Going in, I was almost certain I wouldn't like it. I have never cared for Ken Berry's style of slapstick and have never found him particularly funny - in fact, I usually find him annoying. While Wake Me When the War Is Over didn't necessarily change my opinion on Berry, the movie isn't half bad (what a ringing endorsement). Yeah, most of it is more silly than funny, but there were a few moments that that made me chuckle. Carrington's "rampage" across Germany is easily the best part of the movie. For example, the scene where Carrington jumps out of the window of a moving train because he's certain the Gestapo is about to close in was quite funny. 

I suppose the acting is about what you'd expect from a 1969 television movie starring television actors. Most play pretty much to form. Eva Gabor plays a cross between herself and Lisa Douglas. Werner Klemperer basically plays a toned down Col. Klink. And Jim Backus chews just a bit less scenery than Thurston Howell. It's not much of a stretch for any of the actors. The highlights in the cast for me, however, were Hans Conried (always good) and Danielle De Metz (what a revelation). 

Overall, my 5/10 rating is probably a bit generous.

5/10