By The Museum Of Classic Chicago Television
Here’s a promo for an NBC Theatre presentation of Summer Of My German Soldier, a made-for-TV movie starring Bruce Davison as a Nazi POW and Kristy McNichol as a young American girl who falls head over heels for him. Voiceover by Les Marshak.
This promo aired on local Chicago TV on Saturday, October 28th, 1978 during the 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. time frame. The movie aired on October 30th.
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“Summer of My German Soldier is a 1978 American made-for-television war drama romance film based on the novel of the same name written by Bette Greene.”
Also featuring Esther Rolle as the maid.
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The book:
“Summer of My German Soldier is a book by Bette Greene first published in 1973.
“The story is told in first person narrative by a 12-year-old Jewish girl named Patty Bergen living in Jenkinsville, Arkansas during World War II. The story focuses on the friendship between Patty and an escaped German POW named Anton. Patty first meets Anton when a group of German POWs visits her father’s store. Anton teaches Patty that she is a person of value. In return, she protects Anton by hiding him above her father’s garage.
“The book was followed by a sequel, Morning Is a Long Time Coming.”
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Themes:
“Prejudice exists in many forms, some of them ironic. While Anton, as a German soldier, might be assumed to be a Nazi sympathizer and therefore antisemitic, he is not pro-Nazi and develops a relationship with Patty, who is Jewish. He is, however, a German patriot and wants desperately to get back to Germany. On the other hand, the townspeople show prejudice towards the German soldiers, and many white families in town maintain black servants.”
Suddenly, this post is no longer ironic.
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“A new musical version of the novel with book & lyrics by David Brush and music & arrangements by Jim Farley opened in Ohio in August 2002, staged by Encore Theater Company.”
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The movie:
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Comments welcome.
Posted on December 13, 2016