Brücke, Die (1959)

Director:

Bernhard Wicki

Writers:

Manfred Gregor (novel)
Michael Mansfeld (writer)

Release Date:

1 May 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

They look for love in a world of violence!

Plot:

In 1945, Germany is being overrun, and nobody is left to fight but teenagers.

Plot Keywords:

Anti War | Boy Soldiers | Germany | WWII | 1940s

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 13 wins

Cast

Folker Bohnet	...	Hans Scholten
Fritz Wepper	...	Albert Mutz
Michael Hinz	...	Walter Forst
Frank Glaubrecht	...	Jurgen Borchert
Karl Michael Balzer	...	Karl Horber
Volker Lechtenbrink	...	Klaus Hager
Günther Hoffmann	...	Sigi Bernhard
Cordula Trantow	...	Franziska
Wolfgang Stumpf	...	Stern
Günter Pfitzmann	...	Heilmann
Heinz Spitzner	...	Fröhlich
Siegfried Schürenberg	...	Lt. Colonel
Ruth Hausmeister	...	Mrs. Mutz
Eva Vaitl	...	Mrs. Borchert
Edith Schultze-Westrum	...	Mother Bernhard

Also Known As:

The Bridge (USA)

Runtime:

Germany:105 min | USA:102 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Portugal:17 | West Germany:12 (bw)

Filming Locations:

Cham, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Fono Film

Trivia:

None of the tanks shown in the movie are real. Since the German army still did not have any tanks in 1959, Bernhard Wicki had to have wooden models constructed, which were dragged along the scene with ropes. The sound of the engines was dubbed afterwards.

Goofs:

Plot holes: As stated in the film several times, "the boys" were only in the army since 7am that morning. How could they know how to operate heavy machine guns? The MG34 they were using in the film, needs to have the Barrel changed when it gets over heated, not something that would be taught on your first day of basic training.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Straight Shooter (1999)

A rare find, but worth it

I had heard about this film from a book on war movies. It actually took me quite some time to find it, but I'm very glad I was finally able to see it.

Since this movie is old, and seemingly all but forgotten, I have little knowledge about the making of it, the writer and director's background, or anything else besides the film itself and the comments on this page.

With that in mind, I can say that I was fascinated with this film and was moved and disturbed by its conclusion. Yes, I agree with someone's comments below that there is not much evidence in the movie that the war is humiliatingly flattening Germany. However, I do believe that there were some small town areas that escaped the bombs, and were able to survive from the farmer's produce. What is probably least authentic about the movie is the absence of refugees (although they are mentioned) and the boys' lack of serious Hitler-Youth indoctrination--they do believe in the third reich, however, they never wear HJ uniforms or go to meetings. The Hitler Youth were fanatically loyal to the Nazis, and became the main menace to the allies in the closing months of the war.

The main theme of this movie is the pure waste of Germany's youth by the Nazis. That is the main difference between the closing sequence in this movie and the one in "Saving Private Ryan." These boys died for nothing. The boys that died in this film were like thousands of others killed in this war--brainwashed youth fighting and dying to prolong the Third Reich and Hitler's worthless life for a few more weeks.

This is a very interesting movie for today's American viewers. Although it was made about 15 years after the war, it still has an aged, foreign look and feel to it, and the war has to have been recent in the filmmaker's minds. It is also interesting to see the Americans portrayed as "the enemy." They are treated in the same fashion that American filmmakers usually depict their enemies. The movie will still have everyone sad for these forgotten, abandoned boys. I felt particularly sad for the boy strafed by the plane. Grade: B+