User Reviews

In this show, an old friend of Klink's, Major Hans Kronman, comes to visit and he tells Klink that he has something that he wants to discuss with him. About that time the door opens up and in comes Gestapo agent Captain Guenther. The Captain arrest Kronman for conspiracy to kill Hitler. Right before the Gestapo drags him out of the officer, Kronman hands Hogan a safety deposit box key. That will be the last time anyone sees Major Kronman alive. Now the Gestapo wants to interview Klink. Since his old friend has been arrested, they believe Klink may have also had his hand in the plot.

Hogan and Klink now team-up since the information in the safety deposit box could contain valuable information or even other names of people that Kronman was to discuss the plan. And with the box being in the hotel safe, that is too complex for Newkirk, Hogan is going to have to place a call to London for one of the best safe-crackers around, Alfred Burke also known as Alfie the Artist . But when they find him they first must get permission from the Warden since he is in prison.

An entertaining show that was interesting from beginning to end. Walter Burke does a nice job of playing the shifty Alfie the Artist as his demeanor adds to the show to make the character come alive. This is a more serious show than is accustom for the series but still one that was enjoyable to watch.

Senior POW officer Colonel Robert Hogan and Stalag 13 commandant Colonel Wilhelm Klink form an unlikely yet plausible pairing in "The Safecracker Suite" when Klink's old friend Major Hans Kronman (Anthony Eustrel) pays him a visit--and is promptly arrested by the Gestapo as part of a conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler. And when Kronman slips Hogan the key to a hotel safe-deposit box before being led away, it not only prompts Hogan to enlist the Heroes to investigate, it prompts him to convince Klink into helping them. After all, the Gestapo now has reason to suspect Klink--and who knows what incriminating material Kronman might have tucked away in the box?

Writer Laurence Marks always took a thoughtful, measured approach to his stories, keeping the capers modest and credible while never forgetting that, despite the overarching Keystone Kops portrayal of the Germans in the series, they remained a formidable foe. Thus, Werner Klemperer underplays Klink's usual foppishness in his interactions with Bob Crane while Corporal Peter Newkirk, the safecracking expert among the Heroes, admits that the safe containing the safe-deposit boxes at the hotel trumps his abilities, necessitating the services of British safecracking expert Alfie Burke (Walter Burke), who parachutes in to help.

By now, Crane and Klemperer, who is the unsung star of "Hogan's Heroes" (Klemperer had a much more impressive acting resume than Crane), had begun to mesh as adversaries, and Marks's smart dialog fuels their interactions, lending believability to their initially dubious cooperation. Burke's is little more than a boutique part--even his character admits he'll only be needed for twelve minutes overall and could have actually phoned in his instructions--and the impromptu singing number done by Robert Clary, Richard Dawson, and Larry Hovis simply fills time in a thin story, but with director Howard Morris's distinctive shot framing underscoring Marks's solid script, "The Safecracker Suite" is a steal at twice the price.

Quite often, it is the guest star who makes the episode, and this one is no exception. In my opinion, Walter Burke's portrayal of Alfie the Artist is wonderful. His tone, facial expressions, and quick wit really makes his character come alive. He doesn't just say his lines, he acts them. As Colonel Hogan said about Alfie after Alfie describes the safe after just looking at a key, "Hats off gentlemen, we are in the presence of a genius." The same can be said for Walter Burke. I love this episode.