THE INCIDENT

THE INCIDENT - 1990

RATED - NR but probably PG for some language (family friendly).

RATINGS - 5 Amazon (4.5/5), 5,499 Netflix (3.7/5), 228 IMDB (7.2/10).

STARRING - Walter Matthau, Harry Morgan, Susan Blakely.

AWARDS - EMMY for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special & nominated for several other awards including two Emmy's.

THEMES - Justice, prejudice.

STORY - This made for TV special takes place in 1944 in the fictional town of Bremen, Colorado (it was filmed in Colorado Springs) which is home to a POW camp for German soldiers just outside town. The long-time, popular town physician (also the camp doctor) is murdered at the camp late one night. A makeshift Federal Court is set up in town to conduct the trial. No one doubts for a minute that one of the prisoners, Wilhelm Geiger, did it. To give him a 'fair' trial, he must have legal representation so the judge 'drafts' local down and out attorney, Harmon Cobb (Matthau) to do the job. Cobb, a decorated WWI hero, with a son serving in the military in France, is reluctant to take the job. The judge 'convinces' him to do it. Immediately, he and his family become targets for the local townspeople as 'German lovers'. As he gets into the case, he realizes that it's not all that it appears to be. The acting is great and the story is intriguing, especially since this is a part of WWII that has not had much publicity. A very informative and entertaining 100 minutes, especially for those who like courtroom dramas. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 05/24/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, POW LINK

P.S. I have to admit I was not aware that there were approximately 500 of these POW Camps in the U.S. during WWII. There were between 400,000-500,000 German and Italian soldiers held prisoner. Because of the war, there was a shortage of farm labor and many of them ended working on farms. It is a subject not given much publicity as far as I know. If you google 'german pow camps in america' you will find some interesting websites.