The Secret War of Harry Frigg

Play trailer

The Secret War of Harry Frigg

1968

1h 50m

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

Tomatometer

4 Reviews

46%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

The Army sends a wise-guy private (Paul Newman) to free five Allied generals from an Italian countess's (Sylva Koscina) villa.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

Jul 14, 2022

What is Paul Newman doing in The Secret War of Harry Frigg?

Go to Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Jun 17, 2008

Strong story premise, excellent supporting cast and generally good dialog work to smooth over sometimes static direction and sluggish pacing.

Go to Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Oct 23, 2004

1.5/4

I've seen lousy movies before, but never one that seemed ashamed of itself. At times the actors seem to be in pain, and the movie itself is down-at-the-mouth and desperately boring.

Go to Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Jul 29, 2009

C

Paul Newman is miscast in this potentially funny farce, which doesn't live up to its gimmicky title.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Batman T

@RT10128056 May 19, 2026

I loved this movie! Exciting, clever, romantic, makes me want to go to Europe and have a fun romance.

See more

Blu B

@RT43513976 Dec 2, 2025

Paul Newman, a prison escape plot, WWII setting, this should all come together to make a hidden gem classic and at times it does. Most importantly the end it finally does. However it just can't keep anything consistent going. It feels like it alternates between being interesting, meandering, flat humor, and repeating. The editing is ok and everything else is half decent. Same with the direction. The setup is kind of clunky and rushed, the generals all blend in and really none of them stand out, the bad guys aree very forgettable. Once he arrives at the prison it feels like the planning, bonding, and romance is all very muddled. The romance especially really feels hammed in and are the most boring scenes. I swear the drag on the longest and are the ones I always lost interest in the most. It just doesn't fit in and should've been cut and focus squarely on the generals. Than the humor as this is a war comedy would've been great

See more

Steve D

@RT35616104 Sep 2, 2023

An absolute blast. Newman is great.

See more

Jul 4, 2020

Loved this movie. Paul Newman was great and a great supporting cast. Right down to Opie Cunningham's dad!

See more

Apr 28, 2017

I love this film. One of my favorites from Paul Newman.

See more

Mar 15, 2015

If you're a Paul Newman fan you would enjoy this funny,quirky, Shtick comedy. =)

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Jack Smight

Director

Paul Newman

Pvt. Harry Frigg

Sylva Koscina

Countess Francesca De Montefiore

Tom Bosley

Gen. Roscoe Pennypacker

Andrew Duggan

Gen. Newton Armstrong

John Williams

Gen. Francis Mayhew

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken

67%

75%

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken

Watchlist

They Might Be Giants

61%

73%

They Might Be Giants

Watchlist

Man's Favorite Sport?

70%

73%

Man's Favorite Sport?

Watchlist

The Sting II

13%

28%

The Sting II

Watchlist

Which Way Is Up?

20%

82%

Which Way Is Up?

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

The Army sends a wise-guy private (Paul Newman) to free five Allied generals from an Italian countess's (Sylva Koscina) villa.

Director: Jack Smight
Producer: Hal E. Chester
Screenwriter: Peter Stone, Frank Tarloff
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures, Albion Film Corp.
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 29, 1968, Original
Runtime: 1h 50m

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings