Hogan's Heroes: It was always winter with snow on the ground

Let it snow

I was seven years old when Hogan’s Heroes debuted on CBS in 1965 and I obviously did not pay attention to detail because there was snow in every episode. I saw it but never thought about it until recently when I read an online trivia article. If you were like me you may have watched this series during the original run when you were young and now have become fascinated with previously unknown facts that are available on the web.

My 64-year-old eyes are now catching what I did not as a child as I watch the series on MeTV weeknights from 8 until 9 PM ET. At Stalag 13 it was always winter with snow on the ground and never fall, spring. or summer. I enjoyed the show without concerning myself with detail but fans today are all over the Internet discussing new revelations, and trivia about the series as never before.

Hidden in plain sight

I realize now that even though Hogan’s Heroes was a comedy there was a bleakness within each episode that was hidden in plain sight and masked by the humor of the main cast. Consider that for six seasons in each episode the ghost extras were seen and not heard. These were the men who stood silently around the barricks or outside and simply filled in a space.

You see them in the opening credits with heads hung down and or looking away from the camera. At times they huddled together in the snow with hands in their pockets as if they were cold but they were not given any lines. These men never smile except on rare occasions.

Once in a while one or two of them would be nearby giggling as Colonel Hogan (Bob Crane) and his men got the best of Sergeant Shultz ( John Banner) Colonel Klink (Werner Klemperer) and or the German officials. The ghost extras with their downcast personas really looked as if they were true prisoners of war waiting to be set free. Meanwhile Hogan and his top men seemed happy.

Baby, it’s cold outside

Larry Hovis who portrayed Andrew Carter often wore gloves but this was not storyline driven. The actor was married but the character was not and Hovis kept his wedding band on in honor of his wife. He wore the gloves to hide the ring but at times it could be seen. The gloves and his cap gave the impression he was always cold which added to the effect.

I just found out that the purpose for the snow was so there would be no problems with continuity on Hogan's Heroes, and the episodes could be shown in any order. Each episode stands alone and there were never any two part shows. The cold winter weather was to make prison life appear dire and when you add in the looks on the faces of the extra cash the goal seemed to have been achieved

The Russian Front

Keeping it always winter also added to the effect whenever Klink or Schultz was threatened with being sent to the Russian Front which was often. This punishment was mentioned in many episodes and it was something that worried the Colonel and his sergeant.

The implied message was that the Russian Front would be colder, more dangerous and very uncomfortable compared to Stalag 13. Each time it is mentioned I have images in my mind of blizzards, snow drifts, blustery wind, and freezing temperatures.

Different substances used for the snow

In the opening scene of Hogan's Heroes as the theme music is playing the camera shows the feet of men running out of a building onto the snowy ground. The white substance continues to this day in my opinion, to look like powdered confectionary sugar. During the first two seasons it was actually salt that was used to give the appearance of snow.

For the final four seasons, white paint was used on the top of buildings and on the ground to give the snowy effect. The physical location where Hogan’s Heroes was taped was the 40 Acres lot in Culver City California where The Andy Griffith Show, Gome With the Wind, and other popular movies and television shows were filmed. The cast would often be hit in the high temperatures while wearing heavy clothing, coats, and hats while pretending its winter.

Hogan’s Heroes bloopers mention how the “artificial snow” often clung to clothing and the bare skin of the cast while real snow would have melted. It’s not likely salt would have remained in place and white paint probably was not utilized on the actors. There was one episode where they built a snowman and large amounts of snow fell from the roof onto Klink when he sneezed.,It looked so real that actual artificial snow may have been used for these scenes.

Some studios at the time used mixtures of flour and salt or placed foam on the ground to create the illusion of a snowy landscape. The next time you watch an episode of Hogan’s Heroes see if you can figure out what the snow is made of.

Sources for this article

MeTV

Hogans Heroes facts and trivia

Wikipedia