Three powerful World War Two themes blend seamlessly in "Axis Annie": German propaganda radio broadcasts intended to demoralize Allied forces, the underground resistance movement and the Germans' effort to eliminate it, and the Nazis' rocket program that introduced the next generation of superweapons and that had a profound impact in the post-World War Two period.
Throw in the need to have some laughs mixed into that, all within the constraints of a half-hour television program, and that presents a challenge to "the writers," as user reviewers, indifferent to and thus ignorant of who actually scripted the story, lazily describe the culprits responsible, particularly when they're critical of that story.
Fortunately for us, the script for "Axis Annie" was written by Laurence Marks, whose plausible and modest premises never forgot the underlying sobriety of staging a sitcom during World War Two right in the thick of Nazi Germany. And as the series' best writer, Marks demonstrates his talent for clarity and for developing a solid internal narrative logic that exemplifies the credibility that "Axis Annie" displays impressively.
Pursued by the Germans, underground operative Blue Fox (Chet Stratton) gives the Heroes vital information on the Germans' rocket installation at Peenemunde, the launching site for attacks on England that are causing death and devastation. The Heroes must then pass this information to another underground operative, Vandermeer (Karl Bruck), staying in Hammelburg's Hauserhof Hotel for just a few days.
However, Blue Fox is killed by the Germans, who then crack down on underground operations in the area, with Gestapo Major Hochstetter taking effective control of Stalag 13, site of the Heroes' operations. Increased Gestapo patrols in the area curtail the Heroes' movement outside camp while Hochstetter brings in a radio-detection truck, silencing Sergeant Kinchloe's radio transmissions. How can the Heroes get this vital information to Vandermeer?
Enter Anna Gebhart (Louise Troy), better known as Axis Annie, a fictive version of Axis Sally, the collective nickname given to women radio hosts of American nationality who broadcast wartime propaganda on behalf of Germany and Italy. (Lord Haw-Haw was the collective nickname given to male counterparts.) Annie is looking for prisoners of war who are willing to speak on her program about the fair treatment they are getting from the Germans.
Sensing a risky but possible opportunity to get out of camp, Colonel Hogan agrees to be interviewed by Annie along with Corporals LeBeau and Newkirk, with Hogan having negotiated with Annie and Colonel Klink a night out at the Hauserhof as part of the reward for what is essentially their committing treason.
What follows are fireworks, both in town and back at Stalag 13, and while they might seem like "lame hijinks" to some, those who have bothered to follow along can see that they are logical resolutions to the premise Marks scripted, including the Heroes' treasonous interviews that could be punishable by death.
Amidst the seriousness is Marks's perfunctory slapstick humor such as Hogan taping the information to Sergeant Carter's back as Larry Hovis and John Banner play the fools, while the climactic hijinks, although deliberately contrived as part of a diversion, see Werner Klemperer succumb to Klink's customary fatuousness. Marks is more effective at working in conversational quips that display wit rather than broad comedy, such as Hogan's asides to Annie during their interview.
Limited to just a few key scenes, Troy nevertheless delivers a convincing performance, playing Axis Annie as smooth and confident, her steely resolve quietly enabling her to get her way while not succumbing to influence positive or negative; refreshingly, she doesn't wind up throwing herself at Hogan, a common, overused trope. As a German with power and influence who does not wind up looking foolish, Troy underscores the seriousness of Marks's premise.
That serious premise is Marks's MacGuffin, the Nazis' wartime rocket program that produced the V-1 and V-2 "vengeance weapons" and that had a historical impact that is truly monumental.
After the war, the program's scientists, engineers, and administrators were pursued by the Allied powers, with the United States and the Soviet Union getting the lions' share to jump-start the "space race" between the two superpowers that eventually landed American astronauts on the Moon. Yes, Neil Armstrong's "one giant leap for mankind" was engineered in large measure by the same Nazi-German innovators, such as Wernher von Braun, Hogan's Heroes are trying to thwart in "Axis Annie," a precision-engineered story that lands squarely on target.
REVIEWER'S NOTE: What makes a review "helpful"? Every reader of course decides that for themselves. For me, a review is helpful if it explains why the reviewer liked or disliked the work or why they thought it was good or not good. Whether I agree with the reviewer's conclusion is irrelevant. "Helpful" reviews tell me how and why the reviewer came to their conclusion, not what that conclusion may be. Differences of opinion are inevitable. I don't need "confirmation bias" for my own conclusions. Do you?
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