History Trivia / TheNightOfTheGenerals

* FakeNationality: Several, as almost all of the Germans are played by British actors, although the most egregious example of the Egyptian Omar Sharif as Grau.

* CaliforniaDoubling: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. Hard. The film is set mostly in Warsaw and was shot on location there and in surrounding Poland. In fact, it was one of the very first Western films to be shot behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.

* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: French novelist Joseph Kessel wrote the original shooting script which closely followed Kirst's novel, with Paul Dehn doing some rewrites to streamline the story structure. Unfortunately, Spiegel disliked their script and, when Kessel and Dehn couldn't deliver the alterations he wanted, brought in Creator/GoreVidal to rework the material. Vidal rewrote the screenplay from scratch, but Spiegel disliked his script and fired Vidal.[[note]]Spiegel reportedly wound up using much of Vidal's script anyway, but refused to acknowledge his contribution or grant him a screen credit.[[/note]] As filming began, Spiegel hired playwright Robert Anderson for last minute script doctoring, though it's unclear what his contributions were. Ultimately only Kessel and Dehn received credit, and it's debatable how much of the finished film they actually wrote.

* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: French novelist Joseph Kessel wrote the original shooting script which closely followed Kirst's novel, with Paul Dehn doing some rewrites to streamline the story structure. Unfortunately, Spiegel disliked their script and, when Kessel and Dehn couldn't deliver the alterations he wanted, brought in Creator/GoreVidal to rework the material. Vidal completely rewrote the screenplay from scratch, but Spiegel still wasn't satisfied and fired Vidal. (Nonetheless, Spiegel wound up using much of Vidal's script anyway.) As filming began, Spiegel hired playwright Robert Anderson for last minute script doctoring, though it's unclear what his contributions were. Ultimately, Kessel and Dehn were the only writers to receive credit.

* WagTheDirector: By all accounts, Sam Spiegel micromanaged the production to the degree of ordering constant script rewrites and overruling director Anatole Litvak on almost every issue - on one occasion, he interrupted the filming of a scene to reposition the camera, before a mortified director and a flabbergasted cast and crew. Creator/PeterOToole swore he would never work with Spiegel again after watching his treatment of Litvak.

* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: French novelist Joseph Kessel wrote the original shooting script which closely followed Kirst's novel, with Paul Dehn doing some rewrites to streamline the story structure. Unfortunately, Spiegel disliked their script and, when Kessel and Dehn couldn't deliver the alterations he wanted, brought in Creator/GoreVidal to rework the material. Vidal completely rewrote the screenplay from scratch, but Spiegel still wasn't satisfied and threw it out. (Nonetheless, Spiegel wound up using much of Vidal's script anyway.) As filming began, Spiegel hired playwright Robert Anderson for last minute script doctoring, though it's unclear what his contributions were. Ultimately, Kessel and Dehn were the only writers to receive credit.

* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: French novelist Joseph Kessel wrote the original shooting script which closely followed Kirst's novel, with Paul Dehn doing some rewrites to streamline the story structure. Unfortunately, Spiegel disliked their script and, when Kessel and Dehn couldn't deliver the alterations he wanted, brought in Creator/GoreVidal to heavily rework the material. Vidal completely rewrote the screenplay from scratch, but that Spiegel still wasn't satisfied and threw it out. (Nonetheless, Spiegel wound up using much of Vidal's script anyway.) Forced to start shooting with a screenplay he deemed unsatisfactory, Spiegel then hired playwright Robert Anderson as a script doctor, though it's unclear what his contributions were. Ultimately, Kessel and Dehn were the only writers to receive credit.

* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: Among the movie's other difficulties, it began shooting without a finished script. French novelist Joseph Kessel wrote the original shooting script which closely followed Kirst's novel, with Paul Dehn doing some rewrites to streamline the story structure. Unfortunately, Spiegel disliked their script and, when Kessel and Dehn couldn't deliver the alterations he wanted, brought in Creator/GoreVidal to heavily rework the material. Vidal claimed that he completely rewrote the screenplay from scratch, but that Spiegel still wasn't satisfied and threw it out, refusing to list Vidal on the credits. (Nonetheless, Spiegel wound up using much of Vidal's script anyway.) Forced to start shooting with a screenplay he deemed unsatisfactory, Spiegel then hired playwright Robert Anderson as a script doctor, though it's unclear what his contributions were. Ultimately, Kessel and Dehn were the only writers to receive credit.

* CaliforniaDoubling: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. Hard. The film is set mostly in Warsaw, and was shot on-location there and in surrounding Poland. In fact, it was one of the very first Western films to be shot behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.
* CreatorBacklash: Creator/PeterOToole was quite vocal about disliking the movie, complaining about Sam Spiegel's micromanaging the production (and his decision to pay O'Toole an insultingly small salary), the constant rewrites of the script and playing a character he never fully understood. Creator/OmarSharif also found the experience of playing a sympathetic Nazi character distasteful and only did the film due to a contractual obligation with Spiegel. Sharif was also quite shaken by the experience of several Warsaw natives mistaking him for a real Nazi, which overshadowed for him all other memories of the production.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Creator/MarlonBrando turned down the lead role. Dirk Bogarde was Anatole Litvak's first choice to play Major Grau.

* CaliforniaDoubling: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] for the most part. The film is set mostly in Warsaw, and was shot on-location there and in surrounding Poland. In fact, it was one of the very first Western films to be shot behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.

* CaliforniaDoubling: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] for the most part. The film is set mostly in Warsaw, and was shot on-location there and in surrounding Poland. In fact, it was one of the very first American films to be shot behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Creator/MarlonBrando turned down the lead role. Dirk Bogarde was Anatole Litvak's first choice to play Major Grau.

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/PeterOToole was quite vocal about disliking the movie, complaining about Sam Spiegel's micromanaging the production (and his decision to pay O'Toole an insultingly small salary), the constant rewrites of the script and playing a character he never fully understood. Omar Sharif also found the experience of playing a sympathetic Nazi character distasteful and only did the film due to a contractual obligation with Spiegel. Sharif was also quite shaken by the experience of several Warsaw natives mistaking him for a real Nazi, which overshadowed for him all other memories of the production.

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/PeterOToole was quite vocal about disliking the movie, complaining about Sam Spiegel's micromanaging the production (and his decision to pay O'Toole a small salary), the constant rewrites of the script and playing a character he never fully understood. Omar Sharif also found the experience of playing a sympathetic Nazi character distasteful and only did the film due to a contractual obligation with Spiegel. Sharif was also quite shaken by the experience of encountering several Warsaw natives who mistook him for a real Nazi, which overshadowed all other memories of the production.

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/PeterOToole was quite vocal about disliking the movie, complaining about Sam Spiegel's micromanaging the production, the constant rewrites of the script and playing a character he never fully understood. Omar Sharif also found the experience of playing a sympathetic Nazi character distasteful and only did the film due to a contractual obligation with Spiegel.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Creator/MarlonBrando turned down the lead role.

* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/DonaldPleasence and Charles Gray were both best-known for playing villains at this point in their careers. While not necessarily heroic, their characters are both portrayed as principled anti-Nazis.

* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/DonaldPleasance and Charles Gray were both best-known for playing villains at this point in their careers. While not necessarily heroic, their characters are both portrayed as principled anti-Nazis.

* FakeNationality: Several, as almost all of the Germans are played by British actors, although the most egregious example of the Egyptian Omar Sharif as Grau.

* FakeNationality: Several, as almost all of the Germans are played by British actors, although the most egregious example of the Egyptian Omar Sharif as Grau.
* HeyItsThatGuy: One of the generals suspected of being the killer is [[Film/LawrenceOfArabia T.E. Lawrence]] and the other two are [[Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice Ernst Stavro Blofeld]] and [[Film/DiamondsAreForever Ernst Stavro Blofeld!]]

* HeyItsThatGuy: One of the generals suspected of being the killer is [[LawrenceOfArabia T.E. Lawrence]] and the other two are [[YouOnlyLiveTwice Ernst Stavro Blofeld]] and [[DiamondsAreForever Ernst Stavro Blofeld!]]

* FakeNationality: Several, as almost all of the Germans are played by British actors, although the most egregious example of the Egyptian Omar Sharif as Grau.