Counterpoint

Counterpoint is a Second World War drama set in December 1944. Lionel Evans, a celebrated American conductor, is touring Belgium with his seventy-piece symphony orchestra to entertain Allied troops. When a German counterattack forces them to flee, the musicians are captured and taken to a chateau serving as a German headquarters. A general named Schiller, who is fond of music and admires Evans, wants a private concert instead of an execution, while a colonel presses for the prisoners to be shot. How Evans responds puts the whole orchestra at risk.

Ralph Nelson directed the film, which came out in 1967 and runs 106 minutes. It followed Duel at Diablo in his filmography and preceded Soldier Blue. Joel Oliansky and James Lee wrote the screenplay, and Richard Berg produced it for Universal Pictures. Charlton Heston plays Evans, Maximilian Schell plays General Schiller, and the cast also includes Kathryn Hays, Leslie Nielsen, Anton Diffring and Linden Chiles.

On TMDB the film holds a rating of 6.2 out of 10 from 23 votes, a small sample that points to modest and mixed attention rather than wide acclaim. It sits among the director's late-1960s studio productions, a period piece built around the confrontation between two strong-willed men.