Situation Hopeless -- But Not Serious

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Situation Hopeless -- But Not Serious (1965)

During World War II, a lonely German air-raid warden captures two downed American airmen and keeps them prisoner in his basement way past the end of the war.During World War II, a lonely German air-raid warden captures two downed American airmen and keeps them prisoner in his basement way past the end of the war.During World War II, a lonely German air-raid warden captures two downed American airmen and keeps them prisoner in his basement way past the end of the war.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.9/10

502

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Trivia
The title is a variation of an old Viennese saying; "The situation is desperate, but not serious." A direct influence on the title comes from Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three (1961). In it, James Cagney coaches Horst Buchholz to tell Buchholz's American father-in-law that the situation is "serious, but not hopeless." A flustered Buchholz tells his father-in-law, "The situation is hopeless, but not serious."

Goofs
The opening shows B17s flying over Germany in 1944 but the aircraft from which the 2 parachutes appear is a C130 Hercules aircraft which didn't fly until 1954.

Quotes
Wilhelm Frick: Americans cannot be happy without freedom. In Germany, we never had freedom. Therefore, we have philosophy.

Connections
Remake of Playhouse 90: The Hiding Place (1960)

Soundtracks
Situation Hopeless But Not Serious
(uncredited)
Music by Leon Carr
Lyrics by Earl Schuman
Sung by Mady Rahl

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Review

Featured review

3/10

Situation peculiar... but not hopeless

Two American soldiers stationed in Germany during World War II are captured by an odd German shopkeeper (Alec Guinness); he imprisons the two men in his basement and keeps them there long after the war is over. Strange, unhappy, insecure comedy-drama is extremely well-cast but is really too creepy to laugh at. As the soldiers, Michael Connors and Robert Redford have some good moments, but one can't help but feeling this is just an actors' exercise for both (they're green, but commendable). Alec Guinness is forced to walk a fine line in his characterization; it's imperative to the story that we don't hate the shopkeeper, and Guinness works hard at finding nuances in the man to keep him complex and interesting. If newcomers Connors and Redford are young actors just finding their way, then Guinness is in the Master's class. *1/2 from ****