TV: Camp Life Never Dull

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31235, 6 December 1966, Page 12

TV: Camp Life Never Dull

Colonel Hogan and his “heroes” are in trouble. The programme which they ornament has been criticised as far-fetched, tasteless, morally irresponsible, and, worst of all, dull. It has also been placed at the bottom of the N.Z.B.C. list of our programme ratings for October. But I still find it blithely comic in spite of its high degree of implausibility. Most of the critics of “Hogan’s Heroes” seem to object to the portrayal of life in a German prisoner of war camp as one glorious and hilarious riot. They believe it is wrong to base a programme on the principle of “it was a crazy war,” and fear that younger viewers will accept what goes on in Stalag 13 as an accurate portrayal of prison camp life. The final argument is that the programme must be specifically offensive to returned servicemen, particularly those who were prisoners of war. But there appear to have been no roars of protest from those who know what prison camp life was really like. I think that, unlike the critics, they refuse to take “Hogan’s Heroes” seriously. It is frequently ridiculous, sometimes technically inaccurate, and often it descends to caricature. But the dialogue is swift and witty, the situations are genuinely funny, and the element of mockery suggested by the title is marked in each episode. The critics of “Hogan’s Heroes” have been so concerned with emphasising that prison camp life was never remotely like the blissful existence in the incredible Stalag 13 that they have forgotten what really happened in some real camps. Genuine prisoners of war exercised the same ingenuity as Hogan and his “heroes” in making life endurable. They planned escape attempts, they fooled their guards, and there were many examples of the constant battle of wits waged by Colonels Klink and Hogan.

“Hogan’s Heroes” scarcely deserves its low rating in the N.Z.B.C. list. Its position might improve if viewers forget the accents of the “British” prisoners, the incredibly slack discipline, the introduction of a Royal Air Force wing commander as a colonel, and the basic error

of placing officers and other ranks together in the same camp. It is not, as one critic has said, a nauseating parody of prison camp life, but a cheerful comedy with elements of slapstick and some sharp observation. In its portrayal of national types “Hogan’s Heroes” becomes rather more than a comedy which exploits a bizarre situation. The cocky, impudent Colonel Hogan, so delightfully played by Bob Crane, is not entirely a caricature. He has some of the qualities Americans dislike in their Air Force officers. The prisoners he directs are certainly not heroes, and they are not all stock types. They are an amusing bunch of scallawags, and the ingenious Louis Leßeau, in particular, is a joy. On the German side, the makers of “Hogan’s Heroes” have been guilty of certain exaggerations. The camp guards are not only slack and inefficient, they are also caricatures to be ridiculed, and all elements of fear have been eliminated. But the commandant, Colonel Klink, and the fat, gullible Sergeant Schultz, are not entirely caricatures. Colonel Klink never wins his duels with Colonel Hogan, and often cuts a ridiculous figure. Nevertheless, Werner Klemperer presents him as a very human figure who can command our

sympathy even in defeat. John 11 Banner makes Sergeant : Schultz equally convincing. i “Hogan’s Heroes” is far-

fetched, and often absurd. But it is always funny, and certainly never dull. —ARGUS.