MovieChat Forums > The Winds of War (1983) Discussion > Is the Nazi with the scar on his face th...

Is the Nazi with the scar on his face the same character as....?

posted 16 years ago by mjkbncb
8 replies | jump to latest

This is probably my imagination, but remember the scary-looking Nazi who Natalie encounters several times in Lisbon? The one with the scar on his face?

Well, in "War and Rememberence," when Natalie (played now by Jane Seymour) is let off the train at Auschwitz and his waiting with the thousands of other prisoners to be selected for either slave labor or extermination, the SS officer who looks at her for a long moment and then ultimately assigns her to slave labor looks like that same actor. And I got to thinking: Did the filmmakers intend on it being the same character? Probably not, considering the five years that elapsed between the two films and the fact that it was a minor subplot in the original. But it would have been a horrifyingly ironic plot point if that's what they intended: the sadistic Nazi thug who frequently took pleasure in frightening her in Lisbon, who Byron almost got into a fight with, being the same one who now decides her fate.

[–] BertramWilberforceWooster 16 years ago

It is the same actor, though I cannot be certain it is the same character. I'm re-reading the books right now (just started Winds), and I do not remember Scarface being in Remembrance. I'll let you know in a few weeks, though.

I wonder if I can say *beep* here without it getting bleeped out. Guess not.

[–] luckard 16 years ago

I always wondered if this was intentional.

The actor has a chillingly unforgettable face, especially his piercing eyes. The filmmakers must certainly have known they used him before, especially in a role that meant he could be the same character in both films.

It seems odd if it's an accident, but if it's planned it's certainly subtle.

[–] Ftaren 16 years ago

I always assumed it was the same character. Especially the way he had that "look" on his face when he saw her and sent her to the camp rather than the chambers.

[–] waldenpond88 8 years ago

Dan Curtis recycled several of his actors from WOW in WAR like Sky Dumont (in WOW he played Mussolini's son-in-law Count Ciano, in WAR he played Stauffenberg who tried to kill Hitler in 1944),

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0241694/reference

the Freddie Fearing character Michael McGuire who played Captain Miles Browning in WAR, Robert Morse (at first he's a German banker Wolf Stoller, in WAR he is General Franz Halder).

And if I'm not mistaken, even "big chin" Karl-Otto Alberty from the Lisbon restaurant in WOW shows up again in a different role as Scharfuehrer Rudolf Haindl in WAR.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016793/reference

[–] Stevicus-2 16 years ago

I think that the one that Byron punched in Lisbon in "Winds of War" was also the assistant commandant of Theresienstadt when Natalie and Aaron were there. He was in a rather horrifying scene where Natalie was "warned" not to say anything to the Red Cross inspectors of the camp. It was definitely the same actor, but I don't think it was the same character.

[–] kokomokid1955 16 years ago

if its the same actor i am thinking of (Karl-Otto Alberty) he was the guy who tried to make the guitar player sing that one song and byron knocked him down...he also played the tiger tank commander in the movie Kellys Heroes and helps eastwood and the gang blow open the gold vault at the end. he makes for a most realistic german and i think Winds of War and War and Rememberance was his last 2 roles played.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] pro_aris_et_focis 12 years ago

I logged in to IMDB just to check to see if anyone had posted on this very subject. I believe it is supposed to be the same character as when he sees Natalie at Auschwitz he stops, calls Natalie to come forward and gives her a very sinister look and a smirk as to plainly say "do you remember me? I remember you. You can't run away now".

What puzzles me is the location of the scar. In Winds of War his scar is on his left cheek - when he is in the elevator with Natalie he has his LEFT side facing Natalie and the scar is plainly visible. In War and Rememberence when he is choosing who will live and who will die in Auschwitz and calls Natalie forward to reveal his face to her his scar is on his RIGHT cheek. He is facing her and he smirks and turns his head to the left to reveal a scar on his right cheek. Big mistake if it is, indeed, the same character.