zardoz-13 Before British director Michael Winner made his world-famous or infamous Charles Bronson revenge thriller "Death Wish," he made a most unusual World War II movie. Imagine a British P.O.W., played by Oliver Reed, escaping to Switzerland with an Indian elephant that he has been ordered to evacuate from a German zoo and you've got the basic plot of "Hannibal Brooks." In his autobiography "Winner Take All," Winner remembers that Aida, the elephant, had to be accompanied by another elephant, each of them tipping the scales at two and half tons! Between the elephant, the rowdy Reed, and drug-addled Michael J. Pollard, Winner wound up helming the usual firefights between the Germans and the escaped prisoners-of-war that make up this slightly overlong war movie. Winner stages a convoy ambush, a train derailment, avalanches of logs and stones, and ultimately the destruction of a massive border guard post with verve. Although it doesn't qualify as a really big World War II epic like director J. Lee Thompson's "The Guns of Navarone" or Brian G. Hutton's "Where Eagles Dare," "Hannibal Brooks" is still above-average because it is so unlike all other World War II movies. Patriotism doesn't clap its heels together and storm to the front of the action. Indeed, James Donald of "The Great Escape" where he portrayed the Allied P.O.W. Commandant has the only role in "Hannibal Brooks" that vocalizes patriotism. Meanwhile, the Germans—especially the S.S.—aren't demonized. Appropriately enough, Winner relied on Pollard—fresh from his Oscar nominated role in "Bonnie & Clyde"—to serve as comic relief, and Pollard easily steals the show from Reed and his gigantic co-star. French composer Francis Lai furnishes a majestic orchestral score that sounds like something the 101 Strings would have no problem immortalizing. Nevertheless, like the pachyderm, "Hannibal Brooks" amounts to a slow-moving melodrama which makes it easy to pause it and walk off for a while to attend to other necessities. There is no burning urgency, but the film dutifully arrives at its grand finale.The Germans captured Stephen 'Hannibal' Brooks (Oliver Reed of "The Three Musketeers") in the beginning after he has repaired a vehicle and they shoot it the tires out, taking him prisoner. Cue the Francis Lai music and lenser Robert Paynter, who worked with Winner on most of his pictures, regales us with scenic long shots of Germany as a period train trundles through it. During the train ride, British enlisted man Brooks meets American enlisted man Packy (Michael J. Pollard of "Bonnie & Clyde") and persuades him to serve as their look-out while they try to loosen some planks in the ceiling of a train. The escape attempt is short-lived, but for the remainder of this 101-minute actioneer, Packy and Brooks cross paths at the best and worst times. Once they have been settled into Stalag 7-A, our heroes learn that the Germans are looking for men to work for them in the nearby town of Munich. The vicar (James Donald of "The Great Escape") suggests they pass up this opportunity because they are still on the British Army payroll, but Brooks takes the Germans up on their offer and finds himself tending an elephant named Lucy (Aida in her only starring role) when he isn't in camp.Packy manages to escape when the Allies drop bombs on the zoo. Brooks refuses to abandon Lucy. A piece of shapnel lodges in her side, but our hero nurses her back to health. The bombing killed the German elephant so Lucy is entrusted entirely to Brooks. Indeed, the zoo curator arranges for Brooks—under guard of course—to take Lucy to Innsbruck and so the journey of hardship begins for both man and beast. Kurt, the German soldier (Peter Carsten of "Dark of the Sun") who supervises their trip, rubs Brooks raw and neither man has respect for the other. Eventually, Brooks can longer abide Kurt, and they tangle in the middle of the woods when Kurt makes a foolish move to shoot Lucy. The second time that they trade blows, Kurt falls down a hillside and the woman, Vronia (Karin Baal of "Dead Eyes of London"), who accompanies them discovers that he is dead. Brooks decides to make a dash for Switzerland. Vronia and a sympathetic German guard, Willy (Teutonic actor Helmut Lohner), go their different ways. The closest character to being a villain—other than the drunken Kurt—is German Colonel von Haller. One of the most recognized German character actors to play officers in World War II movies for 30 years—Wolfgang Priess—is instantly credible and twice as villainous. Initially, he forces Lucy, Brooks, and Kurt vacate a train freight car that was assigned to accommodate them during their trip to a quiet part of Germany that Allied bombers wouldn't devastate. Later, when they are crossing a narrow bridge, our heroes encounter the unsavory von Haller again. This time Brooks doesn't capitulate to von Haller. He explains to the colonel while Kurt stands by impotently that you cannot turn an elephant around on a narrow bridge and that Lucy cannot walk backwards."Hannibal Brooks" won't top anybody's list of memorable World War II movies. This is war as an adventure with few opportunities to cast combat in an unglamorous look. Nevertheless, Winner does make war seem ironic. After they knock over an eight truck German convoy, Packy discovers the Jerries were carrying cans of bully beef. This color picture is still entertaining and most of all different compared to most combat movies. Winner recounts in his autobiography that he collaborated on the script treatment of "Hannibal Brooks" with a Norwich house painter who tended an elephant in Munich during the war.

The_Ringo_Kid I accidentally came across this gem of a movie on about October 18th 2000. I was fresh back from a month long trip to Germany and was still suffering from jet-lag. I awoke early and turned on the TV - switching channels when I came across this movie - already about half over.What struck me about this movie as I started to watch it was, the beautiful scenery where it was shot on location. The scene I happened to remember first seeing was one in which Brooks was shown breaking into a closed for the war, hotel of some kind. In this hotel were various paintings and posters having to do with WWII. At first I thought it was some kind of neo-nazi flick and was about to turn the station when I recognized the building that Brooks was in.I was floored when I recognized it as one I had stayed in during my trip to Germany. My interest was piqued and I was hooked to the film. Brooks was relaxing on a bed when he heard a noise from outside and saw a Kubelwagon approaching the building in which he was hiding in. Brooks observed 2 or so German soldiers walk up to the building realizing that something was not as it should be.Fast-thinking on Brooks part as he faked being drunk on wine as the German soldiers made their way to where he was. Brooks wound up escaping the custody of these soldiers by tricking them into going into the wine celler and he locked them into it. Brooks managed to grab a key to the German's vehicle and drove away as the escaped soldiers fired at him.Brooks is seen driving out of sight around a small hill and quickly became the unwitting target of Packy and his little group of followers. (Later on when I did get the chance to watch the film in its entirety, it answered all the questions I had from watching the last half) It turns out that Brooks was trying his best to stay away from Packy and his bunch.Anyway, Brooks finds and gets Lucy (the Elephant) and wants to leave but, Lucy gets away and Brooks wants to go get her as Packy and his bunch try to set up an ambush on an approaching German convoy.There are various interactions between Brooks, Packy and Colonel von Holler throughout the movie. The movie in my opinion was well made with a good to great cast as well as filmed in several locations in which I had just come back from visiting. There is no slow boring moments in this film and your attention is always held.Nuff said on this except that I hope and pray that this movie will eventually be released on DVD.

michaeljkraemer Very interesting story concept. It's worth watching for that novelty alone, however, thankfully, there are other reasons. Some decent action, comedy, and even some well performed and interesting characters exist in this slightly off beat film. If you can suspend you're disbelief enough to accept that an elephant can traipse about a countryside with little to no food for it to eat, then you should be able to enjoy Hannibal Brooks.6 of 10 stars

teelbee You've already read the plot, where an English POW risks his life to conduct a bombed-out zoo elephant, Lisa, from Germany to a safe haven in Switzerland during World War II. Despite the doubts that plot line might suggest, this is a great movie that held my attention the whole way through. An excellent cast gives life to a wide range of characters; and you really do come to understand their actions and care about them.Oliver Reed, as "Hannibal" Brooks, brings a light touch and a wry sense of humor to this role that blends both comedy and drama. It pays to listen closely to the by-play between Brooks and his fellow POWs and the zoo staff, and German soldiers he encounters - there's some really funny stuff here. However, as a war film, it's not all comedy - there are fighting sequences and the film includes some spectacular explosions and pyrotechnics.One thing I liked about the movie is that it portrays the decency of common people; the ordinary people they met along the way who took time to be caring and kind -- in contrast to the horrors of war all around them. Michael J. Pollard, as Packy, an American POW who has ambitions of military glory, is kind of strange. But, then Michael J. Pollard is always strange, so I guess that's what they wanted for his role. I would have preferred to see it played "straight", but I think the strangeness works in this movie anyway.This is a very enjoyable movie - I hope it gets wider distribution on video/DVD so that more people can enjoy it.