MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Down 1,425 this week

A Time to Die (1958)
"A Time to Love and a Time to Die" (original title)

7.7
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.7/10 from 1,192 users  
Reviews: 12 user | 14 critic

In 1944, a company of German soldiers on the Russian front are numbed by the horrors and hardships of war when Private Ernst Graeber's long awaited furlough comes through. Back home in ... See full summary »

Director:

Writers:

(screenplay), (novel)
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 69 titles created 23 Apr 2011
 
a list of 1623 titles created 5 months ago
 
a list of 3595 titles created 1 month ago
 
a list of 2916 titles created 16 May 2011
 
a list of 182 titles created 4 months ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: A Time to Die (1958)

A Time to Die (1958) on IMDb 7.7/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of A Time to Die.
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations. See more awards »
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Ernst Graeber
Liselotte Pulver ...
Elizabeth Kruse Graeber (as Lilo Pulver)
Jock Mahoney ...
Immerman
Don DeFore ...
Hermann Boettcher
...
Reuter
Erich Maria Remarque ...
Dieter Borsche ...
Captain Rahe
Barbara Rütting ...
Woman Guerrilla
...
Oscar Binding
Charles Regnier ...
Joseph
Dorothea Wieck ...
Frau Lieser
Kurt Meisel ...
Heini
Agnes Windeck ...
Frau Witte
Clancy Cooper ...
Sauer
John Van Dreelen ...
Political Officer
Edit

Storyline

In 1944, a company of German soldiers on the Russian front are numbed by the horrors and hardships of war when Private Ernst Graeber's long awaited furlough comes through. Back home in Germany, he finds his home bombed. While hopelessly searching for his parents, he meets lovely Elizabeth Kruse, daughter of a political prisoner; together they try to wrest sanity and survival from a world full of hatred. Written by Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

The great love story of World War II by the author of "All Quiet on the Western Front" See more »

Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

| |

Release Date:

15 September 1958 (Sweden)  »

Also Known As:

Will o' the Wisp  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Westrex Recording System)|

Color:

(Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is not actually Douglas Sirk's only war movie. He also directed the Korean War movie Battle Hymn with 1950s Sirk regular Rock Hudson and the earlier black-and-white World War II films Hitler's Madman and Mystery Submarine. See more »

Goofs

Early in the movie when the platoon is dismissed, one of the soldiers is seen carrying a machine gun on his shoulder. It is clearly visible that there is no barrel inside the barrel shroud. See more »

Quotes

Ernst Graeber: You're more lovely every time I see you. Only this time, you look like the next time.
See more »


Soundtracks

"A TIME TO LOVE"
(uncredited)
Music by Miklós Rózsa
Lyrics by Charles Henderson
Performed by uncredited blonde in cabaret scene
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Trying to turn "grim" into "glossy"
19 December 2002 | by (Minneapolis) – See all my reviews

A Douglas Sirk film from Universal Pictures in 1958 -- this is probably the wrong combination of director, studio, and year for a grim movie about Germany in the last months of World War II. Everything, including John Gavin's well-coiffed hair, looks a bit too "Hollywood."

However, this disconnect between style and substance has its advantages, too, creating an underlying sort of tension which keeps the movie from being labeled a failure.

Watch the supporting cast for Jock Mahoney, Klaus Kinski, and Dana ("Jim") Hutton. Lilo Pulver is an earnest but uncompelling leading lady and John Gavin never looked handsomer. (And that's saying something!) You need to wait about 50 minutes before he takes his shirt off and the resulting scene is disappointingly brief but any sight of The Chest is a cause for celebration.

Point to ponder: would any Hollywood studio risk this kind of ending in today's market?


8 of 22 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Finally on DVD, in France luckard
UK DVD mowgli_07
Discuss A Time to Die (1958) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?