An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge (1962)
"La rivière du hibou" (original title)

During the Civil War, a Southern civilian is about to be hanged for attempting to sabotage a railway bridge. When the execution takes place from the bridge, the rope breaks and he begins his escape toward home.

Director:

Robert Enrico

Writers:

Ambrose Bierce (story), Robert Enrico

Stars:

Roger Jacquet, Anne Cornaly, Anker Larsen

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview:
Roger Jacquet	...	Peyton Farquhar
Anne Cornaly	...	Mrs. Farquhar
Anker Larsen
Stéphane Fey	...	Union Officer
Jean-François Zeller
Pierre Danny
Louis Adelin

Storyline

A Civil War civilian is to be executed by hanging, but when the plank is kicked away, instead of breaking his neck, he manages to miraculously escape unscathed or did he?

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Plot Keywords:

civil war | escape | execution | art | safe return home | 

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Genres:

Short | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Thriller | War

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1962 (France)

Also Known As:

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmartic, Les Films du Centaure

Technical Specs

Runtime:

28 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Aside from the shouts of the soldiers and the song that plays as the prisoner floats to safety, there is no dialogue (not counting the edited Twilight Zone version narration by Rod Serling). This is significant because the original episode of The Twilight Zone was also almost completely devoid of dialogue.

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Goofs

The snippets of English dialogue are all spoken with French accents even though these are supposed to be Americans.

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Connections

Referenced in At the River (2006)

User Reviews

Relating how this film started my love of the cinema

I cannot believe that this film is remembered by more than myself! I was a young teenager waiting for the main picture to start when this small black and white movie was shown as a filler. Forty years later, I can still remember the impact this film had on me. It was stunning! It reached me in such a way, that I have never forgotten it, and it was this film that started my love of cinema..Real cinema!

Over the years, I have mentioned this movie to many people, none of whom have even heard of it, I thought I'd imagined it all..! It was also the film that had me wishing I could work in the movies.... Forty years on, I still have that same dream! Silly isn't it?