The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz

The absolutely one and only reason to watch this cinematic stinkeroo is to see the cast of "Hogan's Heroes" in a Cold War setting rather than World War II. (And that's a dubious enough reason.) Instead of Nazi Germany being run by a bunch of bumbling idiots, in this film, it's East Germany. The taste of the original television series was questionable, and this film only underlines that judgement. Avoid it if you can.

The subject matter notwithstanding, this picture is a colossal waste of time and film...I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone decided to actually sign a contract to do this...the ONLY reason to give it anything more than a 1 is because there are enough scenes of Elke to elevate it to a 2...and spoiling the ending wouldn't come into play here...it would be a patriotic duty to tell everyone how it ends...so they can skip watching it...I think it is a tribute to the other members of the "Hogan's Heroes" cast that they didn't either agree to make this piece of trash or weren't asked...in which case they should thank their lucky stars or buy a lottery ticket...and what is really astonishing is that you can actually find this pseudo-feature on the Net...I found a copy on Half.com...so if you're in the market for one of the worst movies in cinematic history...my suggestion is you go trolling there...

My brother and I watched this movie many, many years ago and although it is not going to win any Academy Award, we both thought it was an extremely funny and entertaining movie. The fact that many of the characters were actors from the "Hogan's Heroes" series just added to the fun. Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, John Banner, Leon Askin showed that they could once again act together to provide an hilarious set of circumstances that just keeps you laughing. "The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz" in my opinion has a fast paced comedy feel that is reminiscent of the James Cagney movie "One, Two' Three." I wish that there was enough interest to get this movie transferred to DVD because it is worth a watch. Not to mention that Elke Summer isn't bad to look at either.

I, too, tuned in to see the cast members of "Hogan's Heroes" in different roles, though other than Leon Askin, most of them are playing very similar characters. After a time, one gets used to the novelty casting, and the movie itself begins to show through. Leading lady Elke Sommer is beautiful and genuinely charming, at least in those scenes where she is allowed to act. (An aside: I wish she had been given more to do during her film career.) On the whole, however, this movie is very poorly written and directed. Most of the physical humor is silly rather than funny, as well as being badly choreographed. Take at most 15 minutes to appreciate said cast members and then turn to something riveting and intellectual, like a rerun of Gilligan.

Elke Sommer was often used primarily as eye-candy (but what eye-candy!) in films of the 1960s and the 1970s, but when given the chance she could be more, as she proves in "The Wicked Dreams Of Paula Schultz". Playing the simultaneously naive and resourceful title character, Sommer gets to let loose in "low" comedy and she is sexy, quite athletic, and very appealing. She is by far the best thing in this otherwise monotonous (the entire "plot" is basically just one situation: Paula Schultz flees to West Germany, bumbling East German agents try to get her back), overextended (113 minutes!) comedy. There are some laughs, but not enough for such a long movie. By the way, was Maureen Arthur's character supposed to be an "undesirable" wife? I thought she had a pretty hot body....** out of 4.

The idea of using the Hogan's Heroes cast in a cold war farce could have been delicious. The Paula Schultz character, her circumstances, and goals, could have made for a very interesting cold war farce. Bob Crane, stepping out of character, to form a complex blend of con man, sadist, and American patriot, had definite possibilities. Unfortunately, when they put them all together. This is the mess they got. I can hardly believe that George Marshall (!!!) is the credited director on this disjointed, slapsticky, murky mess.