The Big Lift (1950)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

George Seaton

Writer:

George Seaton (writer)

Release Date:

26 April 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

Experiences of two Air Force sergeants during the 1948 Berlin Airlift.

Plot Keywords:

Airlift | Semi Documentary | Occupied Germany | Cold War | Soldier

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 18

10:00 AM

TCM

Cast

Montgomery Clift	...	Sgt. 1st Class Danny MacCullough
Paul Douglas	...	M / Sgt. Henry "Hank" Kowalski
Cornell Borchers	...	Frederica Burkhardt
Bruni Löbel	...	Gerda
O.E. Hasse	...	Stieber
Captain Dante V. Morel	...	Himself
Captain John R. Mason	...	Sergeant
Captain Gail R. Plush	...	Himself
Captain Mack Blevins	...	Himself
Captain William A. Stewart	...	Himself
First Lieutenant Alfred L. Freiburger	...	Himself
First Lieutenant Gerald Arons	...	Himself
First Lieutenant James Wilson	...	Himself
First Lieutenant Richard A. Kellogg	...	Himself
First Lieutenant Roy R. Steele	...	Himself

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording) | Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Airport, Tempelhof, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Associated Press correspondent Richard O'Malley and ABC News correspondent Lyford Moore play themselves in the film.

Quotes:

Frederica Burkhardt: When you live in a sewer, you soon discover that the sewer rats are best equipped to survive.

Soundtrack:

National Emblem March

Realistic, gritty and sad.

The movie, "The Big Lift," starring Montgomery Clift as Flight Engineer Danny MacCullough, represents a time machine back into the beginnings of the Cold War. It's shot in gritty black and white by director George Seaton to enhance the images of life among the ruins of post WWII Berlin. It's also a very nice slice of Air Force flying in the early 50's and as a professional pilot, I can say that the flying sequences showing the C-54 cockpit are quite realistic. In one scene, Clift runs cockpit checklists for the pilots who are flying that are completely authentic. There is also a nice description of how GCA approach control works, which still exists as a backup at todays airports.

Some claim that Paul Douglas' character, "Kowalski," isn't believable as an anti-German bigot, but I thought he was "spot-on." There are men in their 80's today who still feel the same way.

German actor O.E. Hasse portrays "Stieber, the Scrounger." He's a bit of comic relief as a spy for the Russians, watching Templehof field, counting the Allied aircraft as they land. He says that he has to lessen the count so that the Russians will believe him. Look for Hasse in another excellent war picture, "Decision Before Dawn", where he plays Wehrmacht Colonel Von Ecker of the XI Panzer Corps, deployed east of the Rhine to counter the American Seventh Army during the closing months of the war. Also like "The Big Lift," this movie was shot amongst the ruins of Germany and used real Army personnel on screen.

"Decision Before Dawn," "Battleground," "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "The Big Lift" are four b+w movies made in this era which attempted to get a real taste for the movie goer of what the men experienced during World War II and the period just after. All four are favorites of mine and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Thank you for reading my comments.