Ah Hans Landa, the strangely likeable Nazi from Quentin Tarantino's hit war movie Inglourious Basterds. The Colonel played by German actor Christoph Waltz may be a representative of the Third Reich, but he does show off one hell of a pipe in the opening to the film. And for the record, the pipe itself is a Calabash Meerschaum, a large and iconic type more commonly associated with Sherlock Holmes. But don't go out and buy one, because smoking is Nazi good for you. As well as being an impressive prop, the pipe has a deeper meaning in terms of the film. Director Tarantino had the character of Landa produce the distinctive pipe in an important scene, where the Nazi officer discovers a Jewish family in hiding on a farm. Landa's discovery of the family is signified by the Sherlock Holmes pipe which he produces out of his coat, as he has 'solved the case' of the missing family whilst working as a 'detective' for the Nazis. Elementary, herr Watson!
