The Search (1948)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Fred Zinnemann

Writers:

Richard Schweizer (screenplay)
David Wechsler (collaborator on screenplay)

Release Date:

26 March 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

In the Post-War Berlin, an American private helps a lost Czech boy to find his mother.

Plot Keywords:

Germany | Concentration Camp | Children | Ruins | Orphan

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Montgomery Clift	...	Ralph 'Steve' Stevenson
Aline MacMahon	...	Mrs. Murray
Jarmila Novotna	...	Mrs. Hannah Malik
Wendell Corey	...	Jerry Fisher
Ivan Jandl	...	Karel 'Jimmy' Malik
Mary Patton	...	Mrs. Fisher
Ewart G. Morrison	...	Mr. Crookes
William Rogers	...	Tom Fisher
Leopold Borkowski	...	Joel Markowsky
Claude Gambier	...	Raoul Dubois

Runtime:

Germany:105 min

Country:

Switzerland | USA

Language:

English | German | French | Polish | Hungarian | Czech

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Passed | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Praesens-Film

Quotes:

[Steve is teaching a young boy, whose name he does not know but has coined Jim, to speak English]
Ralph 'Steve' Stevenson: [to Jim] You have no idea how useful it's going to be for you to know English. You can go where ever you like. Everybody knows what 'OK' means. You can use English all over the world. Not, not just America: Canada, Africa, Australia, India. Even in England, they understand English... well, sort of.

Movie Connections:

References Bambi (1942)

Soundtrack:

'S Wonderful

A Neglected Classic

I have been haunted by THE SEARCH since I first saw it when it first came out in 1948. I have since been on my own search to be able to see it again. Finally I saw it again at the July 2005 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival where they said they had to obtain a copy of the film from England. It would be interesting to know the circumstances around this film and why it is so rarely available to USAmerican audiences. I suspect that a key element in that obscurity is that its chief writer, Richard Schweizer, was one of the Hollywood Jewish screenwriters blacklisted by the House Unamerican Activities Committee so that the film suffered the same fate. I am very heartened by reading the comments of others on this site. I am not alone in holding this film in a kind of reverence. I hope it will become more generally available to USAmericans. Its neglect is such an injustice for Montgomery Clift who gave such a great naturalistic performance--doing it as well or better than James Dean who followed later. And none of director Fred Zinneman's works should be allowed to disappear.