In a showcase for Leon Askin, General Burkhalter is determined to plug the leaking of sensitive information he is convinced is coming from Stalag 13 in "Information Please," which tries to ensnare Hogan's Heroes, the intelligence and sabotage unit under Colonel Hogan that operates clandestinely from the prisoner-of-war camp commanded by Colonel Klink, in Burkhalter's wily trap--and tries to trap Klink along with it.
Typical of a Laurence Marks script, "Information Please" keeps the plausibility high and the narrative clear. Thanks to a highly-placed German spy in London, Burkhalter and his aide Major Kohler (John Stevenson) have pinpointed Stalag 13 as the source of intelligence leaks to the Allies and have devised a two-pronged sting to trap the source: First is false information planted with Klink about a bogus rocket factory near the camp; when the Allies then bomb the abandoned factory, they know a source in the camp sent it to London. Next is a German spy, Schmidt, masquerading as American flier Lieutenant Crandall (Sam Melville), whom Burkhalter plants in Hogan's barracks. Finally, suggesting that even Klink could be the source of all the leaking to the Allies, Burkhalter replaces him as commandant with Kohler.
Hogan and his team, having been burned by the factory snare, eventually uncover Crandall's true identity in a slick stratagem spearheaded by Sergeant Kinchloe. Their next order of business is to discredit Kohler so he doesn't become a permanent fixture--and a permanent damper on their operations, which include the need to spirit an escaping British flier (Don Knight) out of camp and back to England.
Askin, with the spotlight on his Burkhalter as the architect and executor of the sting operation, expertly exudes the shrewdness and ruthlessness befitting a top German general as Marks, never forgetting the undercurrent of seriousness inherent in the very premise of a situation comedy set during World War Two in a German prisoner-of-war camp, keeps the danger level credible by reminding the Heroes that the Germans are hardly fools.
Yet by the same token, Marks doesn't forget the comedy angle, either, as he tasks Klink and Sergeant Schultz with providing the fatuousness that also marks "Hogan's Heroes," with Werner Klemperer especially falling back on his toadying manner while John Banner goes the reliable "I know nothing!" route with Schultz.
With its deft blending of intrigue and humor, "Information Please" exemplifies the balance of seriousness and silliness that marked the most effective--and enjoyable--"Hogan's Heroes" episodes.
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