It did seem like he drowned awful fast, though. But the important thing was all the villagers saw his German uniform. Now, if Steiner had been a bit quicker on his feet, he would have said something like, "Hey, look, guys. Private Polanski's a spy! Grab him!"
So, to sum it up in legal terminology: Get lost, you bum.
My guess while watching the film again was that the German soldier had been hit on the head by one of the paddles of the water wheel. The impact broke his neck.
Terry Thomas
Character Actor and Film Unit Stills Photographer
www.TerryThomasPhotos.com
I don't remember how the German soldier died in the film, but in the book it is clearly stated that he died because his skull was crushed by one of the paddles of the water wheel.
shareMy guess while watching the film again was that the German soldier had been hit on the head by one of the paddles of the water wheel. The impact broke his neck
That's exactly what happened and pretty clear in the movie, with broken paddles and quite a lot of blood liberally splashed around.
It was also a good scene, because besides being the first roadblock for the Germans to overcome, it made us feel sympathetic for the Germans, who were shown to be respecting of civilian life in the midst of a soon-to-be war zone..
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The best scene was when that German soldier drowned.
It did seem like he drowned awful fast, though. But the important thing was all the villagers saw his German uniform. Now, if Steiner had been a bit quicker on his feet, he would have said something like, "Hey, look, guys. Private Polanski's a spy! Grab him!"
I too think it was best. The whole plot seems to pivot around that scene ... where the German was above else a good person. What I like about this film is that Steiner and his group are in fact good Germans with morals.
The book by Jack Higgins details that the Germans skull was crushed by the water wheel.
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