Last Non Western You Watched

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    Quote from alamo221

    The latest Walking Dead, latest Vegas, latest Boardwalk Empire, American Pickers, and American Pawn (the last 2 are guilty pleasures-hokey as hell, but informative)



    Informative but all scripted too.


    Just watched Duke and Widmark and Boone etc in: The Alamo. I needed to do so.

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..

    Quote from Gorch

    Spent the afternoon watching "The Great Escape" (1963) on the huge screen at a Cinemark theater. The film looked pretty good, but not pristine, and the improved digital sound shook the walls.
    The theater was pretty full but I didn't notice a single female. When the show ended, the applause was spontaneous as the baseball bounced off the cooler wall. Just a wonderful three hours!




    We deal in lead, friend.



    A Lady friend of mine went with me. I saw this too and loved seeing it on the big screen. We went to the 2Pm showing and it had maybe 10 people in there including us--but I was told that the evening showing was already sold out ;-))


    The sound and all was great and the German Militaria collector in me--got a chance to nit pick the real stuff used versus the repo stuff the Germans wore ;-)) Some of the "transfers (decals) on the German helmets were cheap stickers--but most of the stuff used--was period ;-))


    BTW--a Knights Cross Recipient was one of the actors in the movie. His name is: Til Kiwi--but this isnt his real name either but--at least they had him in the Luftwaffe--because he had been in the Luftwaffe as a Fallschirmjager (Paratrooper) in WWII as a Major. Kiwi was the guy who fired his pistol at Steve McQueen just after he discovered the escape tunnel. Also, Johannes Meissner the Camp Kommandant Oberst von Luger-who was the one wearing the Pour le Merite--had been a PoW in a British PW camp in WWI.


    Anyway, I can supply Kiwis real name if anyone really wants to know it? ;-))

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..

    I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you want gadgets and megalomaniacs wanting to rule the world then it's not for you. If however you like your Bond to be set in the 'real world' then I'm sure you'll love it.

    "Pour yourself some backbone and shut up!"

    Hi Carl, glad that you and your friend enjoyed the Escape. As I watched the film, I noticed the German insignias and planned to ask you if they were correct. I figured that they might be so, since the movie was filmed in '62 and the actual escape happened in '44, a pretty short time span.
    I thought the German ferret actor was named Til Kiwe, but I defer to your superior insight. I believe his real name was Tilman Kiver, but may be wrong again. I know I saw him in "The Longest Day" and a couple others I can't recall. He also was the ferret that had the faucet turned on him and the one who asked Hendley if he had gone over to the birds.
    One thing about the show yesterday that you probably didn't experience (due to the small audience) was the sense of audience involvement. There were laughs and gasps at the appropriate times and as mentioned before, a spontaneous burst of applause and cheers when Hilts began slamming the baseball against the wall when the film was "Dedicated to the Fifty".
    I had forgotten that a decent film is a shared experience.
    Good stuff, Hilts.




    We deal in lead, friend.



    Hi Bill, most of the insignia was the real deal as well as of the uniforms and hats, helmets etc. An easy way to tell about their trousers and tunics--is look at the color. The tunics (jackets) in early war years--were Grey-Green and is easy to spot. You will see those only on the guys who were playing Waffen SS--like those who arrested the Attenborough and his partner--characters.


    The Ferret was Robert Graf and he looks to me--a lot like: Oskar Werner--who played a Luftwaffe Sanitator Corporal in: Decision before Dawn--and all the medals, insignia and uniforms as well as German Soldier extras in that movie--were the real deal. The extras all had served in the war-and wore their own uniforms and awards for that movie.


    Im not an expert on Luftwaffe uniforms but--most of the ones I saw used in the movie--looked good-but could also have been post war Bundeswaffe-but the Waffen SS uniforms were the real deal. As for shoulderboard rank insignia on some of the uniforms--they were post war and are easy to spot because they were cheaply made items. As far as i could tell--all the caps worn--peaked visors, overseas caps as well as the M-43 caps were the real deal. M-43 caps were caps with visors on them and look like the ones that Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood wore in: Where Eagles Dare--even if the ones they were--were cheap repops with ear flaps way too small. ;-))


    The only award I saw worn that I wasnt sure was real--was the Pour le Merite that Johannes Messmer (Colonel von Luger) wore. It looked too big to me--but COULD have been a real one. Ive never seen one in person or touched one--so hard to say on that one ;-))


    On Til Kiwi, Tilman is correct but I cant recall his real last name off hand? Ill have to look it up in one of my books. There is an excellent book out by: Franz Kurowski-called: Knights Cross Recipients of the Fallschirmjager. I think the book has a green color? and its still sold at Barnes and Nobles Bookstores. I have the other two in the series--Uboat RKTs and I forget what branch the 3rd book is about? probably Panzer RKTs? cant remember? Its been about 5 years or more since I last looked at them but I still have them ;-))


    Oh and, on Franz Kurowski. During the war-he was the German equivillent to a War Correspondant. He has written dozens of excellent books but most have not been translated into English yet.

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..

    Forgot to mention. The colorful Branch collar tabs you see on the camp guards used were Red--which meant they were Flak Artillery Troops and Yellow for: Flight/Paratrooper personnel.


    That old photo in von Lugers office that was directly behind his desk that showed four men in it--which was an original WWI photo of Messmers. The gent on the extreme right in that photo was Johannes Messmer as he was in WWI.


    Another thing I forgot to mention is that ive never seen original photos of Germans in the Luftwaffe serving as guards at Stalags, Dulags etc--that had any personnel from the Flak Artillery serving there--which COULD be possible because they would have been those who were convalescing wounded and would serve a short period of time there while recooperating from wounds. After that--they would have gone back to their branch of service--and in that case-would be Flak Artillery.

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..

    Edited once, last by The Ringo Kid ().

    One other forgot to mention: If you get a chance? watch the movie: Hannible Brooks w/ Oliver Reed, james Donald, Michael J, Pollard and Wolfgang Priess. Til Kiwi was in the movie with Priess and both wore Waffen SS unifoms that were the real deal. Priess was the SS Colonel and his Sergeant was Til Kiwi. Look at their uniforms and it will be a great study on IDing the real thing.

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..

    Wow, Ringo, that's a lot of info to process. Haven't seen "Hannibal Brooks" since the middle of the last century but will try to access it.


    Watched everyone's favorite garden gnome, Tom Cruise, in "The Last Samurai" and thought that he did a fine job. Have no idea if anything was historically accurate because my only information about Japan has been learned from "Shogun" and "Barbarian and the Geisha".


    Anyway, the movie held my interest and I plan on watching it again.



    We deal in lead, friend.

    Operation Pacific again. Wish Ward could have made it through the whole movie, but that wouldn't do for him to be Duke's "boss" in the WHOLE film...half was enough! KEITH

    God, she reminds me of me! DUKE


    Im the sites official WWII collectables guy to go to. However, im not good enough to tell you tunic by tunic--what year they were made--like some guys I know elsewhere.


    On Hannible Brooks. The area where he breaks into a closed resort of somekind--before the Geremans come in the Kubelwagon to investigate--I was in that area in Germany and saw those buildings in person. Didnt tour them but Susanne and I drove by them-and at the time, I had no memory of ever watching the movie. Well, a day or so after I got back from Germany--it was being shown on Showtime and I just happened to turn the set on and it was on the scene where he was breaking into that resort. I thought it looked familiar so I kept watching and was greatful it was a war movie ;-))

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..