Me and the Colonel

1958 film by Peter Glenville

Me and the Colonel

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Peter Glenville
Screenplay by|

* S. N. Behrman
* George Froeschel

Based on| Jacobowsky und der Oberst
by Franz Werfel
Produced by| William Goetz
Starring|

* Danny Kaye
* Curt Jurgens
* Nicole Maurey
* Françoise Rosay
* Akim Tamiroff
* Martita Hunt
* Alexander Scourby

Cinematography| Burnett Guffey
Edited by|

* William A. Lyon
* Charles Nelson

Music by| George Duning
Distributed by| Columbia Pictures

Release date

* October 1958 (1958-10) (United States)

Running time

| 110 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Box office| $1.2 million (US and Canada rentals)[1]

Me and the Colonel is a 1958 American comedy film based on the play Jacobowsky und der Oberst by Franz Werfel. It was directed by Peter Glenville and stars Danny Kaye, Curd Jürgens, and Nicole Maurey.

Kaye won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his portrayal.[2] The writers won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Comedy.[3]

## Plot

[edit]

In Paris during the World War II invasion of France by Nazi Germany, Jewish refugee S. L. Jacobowsky seeks to leave the country before it falls. Meanwhile, Polish diplomat Dr. Szicki gives the antisemitic and autocratic Polish Colonel Prokoszny secret information that must be delivered to London by a certain date.

The resourceful Jacobowsky, who has had to flee from the Nazis several times previously, manages to "buy" an automobile from the absent Baron Rothschild's chauffeur. Prokoszny peremptorily requisitions the car, but finds he must accept an unwelcome passenger when he discovers that Jacobowsky has had the foresight to secure gasoline. The ill-matched pair (coincidentally from the same village in Poland) and the colonel's orderly, Szabuniewicz, drive away.

Jacobowsky is dismayed when the colonel first heads to Reims in the direction of the advancing German army to pick up his girlfriend, Suzanne Roualet, a French innkeeper's daughter. Prior to their arrival, Suzanne attracts the unwanted admiration of German Major von Bergen, but he is called away before he can become better acquainted with her.

As they flee south, Jacobowsky begins to fall in love with Suzanne. At one stop, Jacobowsky manages to find the group magnificent lodgings at a chateau by telling its proud royalist owner that unoccupied France is to become a monarchy headed by the colonel. A drunk Prokoszny challenges Jacobowsky to a duel, but Jacobowsky manages to defuse the situation. When the Germans, under von Bergen, occupy the chateau, the foursome barely get away.

They are chased by von Bergen, but the assistance of a sympathetic Mother Superior enables them to shake off their pursuers and reach a prearranged rendezvous with a British submarine. There, however, the submarine's commander informs them that there is only room for two. Suzanne makes the colonel and Jacobowsky go, while she remains behind to fight the invaders in her own way.

## Cast

[edit]

* Danny Kaye as S.L. Jacobowsky
* Curd Jürgens as Colonel Prokoszny (as Curt Jurgens)
* Nicole Maurey as Suzanne Roualet
* Françoise Rosay as Madame Bouffier (as Francoise Rosay)
* Akim Tamiroff as Szabuniewicz
* Martita Hunt as Mother Superior
* Alexander Scourby as Major von Bergen
* Liliane Montevecchi as Cosette
* Ludwig Stössel as Dr. Szicki (as Ludwig Stossel)
* Gérard Buhr as German Captain (as Gerard Buhr)
* Franz Roehn as Monsieur Girardin
* Celia Lovsky as Mme. Arle
* Clément Harari as Man of the Gestapo (as Clement Harari)
* Alain Bouvette as Rothschild's Chauffeur
* Albert Godderis as M. Gravat
* Peter Glenville as Submarine Captain (uncredited)

## Production

[edit]

The film was William Goetz's first film in a six-picture deal for Columbia.[4]

## Reception

[edit]

The film was well reviewed but did not do well at the box office.[5] Herbert Feinstein in Film Quarterly, wrote that "Willam Goetz ... produces the minor miracle of creating a credible modern-day fairy tale."[6] He lauded all of the main actors, but singled out Kaye for even higher praise, stating, "The director (Peter Glenville) doubtless is a genius, for he has taken this batch of variously outrageous personalities and muted them into a team: in the case of Kaye, the alchemy achieves pure gold."[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Top Grossers of 1958". Variety. 7 January 1959. p. 48.
2. ^ "Danny Kaye at 100". CBS News. June 19, 2013.
3. ^ "1959 Awards Winners". Writers Guild Awards. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
4. ^ "'Cordura' Pends As Columbia Special For Hard Ticket". Variety. February 4, 1959. p. 7. Retrieved July 4, 2019 - via Archive.org.
5. ^ Arneel, Gene (August 10, 1960). "New Hard Look at Film Critics And Their Relationship To B.O." Variety. p. 3. Retrieved February 9, 2021 - via Archive.org.
6. ^ a b Feinstein, Herbert (Winter 1958). "Review: Me and the Colonel". Film Quarterly. 12 (2): 51–53\. doi:10.2307/3186056. JSTOR 3186056.51-53&rft.date=1958&rft_id=info:doi/10.2307/3186056&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3186056#id-name=JSTOR&rft.aulast=Feinstein&rft.aufirst=Herbert&rft_id=https://fq.ucpress.edu/content/12/2/51&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Me+and+the+Colonel" class="Z3988">

## External links

[edit]

* Me and the Colonel at IMDb
* Me and the Colonel at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
* Me and the Colonel at the TCM Movie Database
* 1945 Theatre Guild on the Air radio adaptation of original play at Internet Archive

* v
* t
* e

The films of Peter Glenville

* The Prisoner (1955)
* Me and the Colonel (1958)
* Summer and Smoke (1961)
* Term of Trial (1962)
* Becket (1964)
* Hotel Paradiso (1966)
* The Comedians (1967)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States

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