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IMDbPro

The Bridge

Original title: Die Brücke
  • 19591959
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 43m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
8K
YOUR RATING
Karl Michael Balzer, Folker Bohnet, Frank Glaubrecht, Michael Hinz, Günter Hoffmann, Volker Lechtenbrink, Günter Pfitzmann, Wolfgang Stumpf, Cordula Trantow, Fritz Wepper, and Bernhard Wicki in The Bridge (1959)
DramaWar
In 1945, Germany is being overrun, and nobody is left to fight but teenagers.In 1945, Germany is being overrun, and nobody is left to fight but teenagers.In 1945, Germany is being overrun, and nobody is left to fight but teenagers.
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
8K
YOUR RATING
    • Bernhard Wicki
  • Writers
    • Manfred Gregor(novel)
    • Michael Mansfeld
    • Heinz Pauck
  • Stars
    • Folker Bohnet
    • Fritz Wepper
    • Michael Hinz
    • Bernhard Wicki
  • Writers
    • Manfred Gregor(novel)
    • Michael Mansfeld
    • Heinz Pauck
  • Stars
    • Folker Bohnet
    • Fritz Wepper
    • Michael Hinz
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 64User reviews
    • 32Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar

    Photos143

    The Bridge (1959)
    Folker Bohnet, Frank Glaubrecht, Michael Hinz, Volker Lechtenbrink, and Fritz Wepper in The Bridge (1959)
    Inge Benz and Michael Hinz in The Bridge (1959)
    Cordula Trantow in The Bridge (1959)
    Karl Michael Balzer, Michael Hinz, Volker Lechtenbrink, Cordula Trantow, and Fritz Wepper in The Bridge (1959)
    Folker Bohnet and Frank Glaubrecht in The Bridge (1959)
    Karl Michael Balzer, Folker Bohnet, Frank Glaubrecht, Michael Hinz, Günter Hoffmann, Volker Lechtenbrink, Wolfgang Stumpf, Cordula Trantow, and Fritz Wepper in The Bridge (1959)
    Frank Glaubrecht, Wolfgang Stumpf, Cordula Trantow, and Fritz Wepper in The Bridge (1959)
    Michael Hinz, Volker Lechtenbrink, and Cordula Trantow in The Bridge (1959)
    Volker Lechtenbrink and Fritz Wepper in The Bridge (1959)
    Karl Michael Balzer, Folker Bohnet, and Volker Lechtenbrink in The Bridge (1959)
    Michael Hinz and Cordula Trantow in The Bridge (1959)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Folker Bohnet
    Folker Bohnet
    • Hans Scholten
    Fritz Wepper
    Fritz Wepper
    • Albert Mutz
    Michael Hinz
    Michael Hinz
    • Walter Forst
    Frank Glaubrecht
    • Jurgen Borchert
    Karl Michael Balzer
    • Karl Horber
    Volker Lechtenbrink
    Volker Lechtenbrink
    • Klaus Hager
    Günter Hoffmann
    • Sigi Bernhard
    • (as Günther Hoffmann)
    Cordula Trantow
    Cordula Trantow
    • Franziska
    Wolfgang Stumpf
    Wolfgang Stumpf
    • Stern
    Günter Pfitzmann
    • Heilmann
    Heinz Spitzner
    • Fröhlich
    Siegfried Schürenberg
    • Lt. Colonel
    Ruth Hausmeister
    • Mrs. Mutz
    Eva Vaitl
    Eva Vaitl
    • Mrs. Borchert
    Edith Schultze-Westrum
    Edith Schultze-Westrum
    • Mother Bernhard
    Hans Elwenspoek
    • Mr. Forst
    Trude Breitschopf
    • Mrs. Forst
    Klaus Hellmold
    • Mr. Horber
      • Bernhard Wicki
    • Writers
      • Manfred Gregor(novel)
      • Michael Mansfeld
      • Heinz Pauck
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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, they were then placed on top of a truck chassis. The wheels can clearly been seen under the "tank" body.
    • Goofs
      The action takes place within a couple of days in the late spring of 1945 as the US forces were moving through Bavaria. However, the trees clearly show their late Autumn remaining foliage, instead of spring buds and new leaves.
    • Quotes

      Sigi Bernhard: Whoever defends one square foot of German soil defends Germany!

    • Alternate versions
      An English dubbed version was released in the USA in 1963.
    • Connections
      Edited into Bernhard Victor Christoph Carl von Bülow genannt Loriot (2008)

    User reviews64

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    THE BRIDGE (Bernhard Wicki, 1959) ***1/2
    This German contender for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar is an unflinching war effort that obviously draws comparisons – in its narrative depicting the disillusionment experienced by a number of schoolboys-turned-soldiers – with ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930), albeit dealing with the subsequent world conflict. Though only rated * by the "Leslie Halliwell Film Guide", it boasts a favourable write-up therein – on the other hand, I was under the impression that it was given more than *** in the Leonard Maltin equivalent! For the record, it has received its due in "War Movies" – an oversized but appealing book on the subject owned by my father – and is even listed in the all-time top 3,000 movies ranked by the "Wonders In The Dark" website.

    The acclaim this garnered upon release won Wicki the co-director gig on Darryl F. Zanuck's super production revolving around the D-Day landings THE LONGEST DAY (1962); his brief Hollywood tenure also comprised THE VISIT (1964) and, another WWII adventure, MORITURI (1965) – a distinguished actor in his own right, he is perhaps best-known for his supporting turn in Michelangelo Antonioni's LA NOTTE (1961). With respect to the film's cast, only the face of a youthful Fritz Wepper – future co-star of CABARET (1972) and the "Derrick" TV series – was familiar to this viewer. Oddly boasting no credits on the print I watched (except for the title and company credits!), this competed at the Oscars against Italy's THE GREAT WAR – a viewing of which followed in quick succession – that concerned itself, albeit on a vaster scale and in a serio-comic tone, with WWI…but they were surprisingly defeated by the exotic French entry i.e. BLACK ORPHEUS.

    The movie is basically divided into three parts: the first 40 minutes showing the boys in school; the next 30 illustrating their basic training and posting; and the last half-hour being devoted to the combat sequences. Most of the teenage boys are coming-of-age and experience their first sexual hang-ups before being sent to the front: a blond boy with the only female student in the class; another the salesgirl in his father's shop (who is also the boss' lover); and the cowardly Mayor's son towards the gymnasium instructor in a nearby girls' school. The battle scenes are certainly effectively rendered and appropriately harrowing, if occasionally over-the-top: a G.I., astonished to be confronted by a bunch of 16 year-olds, tells them to run off to their mothers but they find his condescending attitude insulting…and he is literally gutted by their response!; an equally disdainful local, then, has his face blown off and body scarred by a backfiring bazooka, etc. The supreme irony of the film is that, while the boys' superior officer (who is himself shot almost instantly for apparent desertion by his own compatriots!) orders them to defend the expendable bridge ostensibly to keep the kids out of harm's way, the fact that the German forces intend blowing it up regardless so as to stem the Allied advance ensures that all but one of the fresh-faced soldiers sacrifice their lives to the fatherland unnecessarily!
    helpful•10
    0
    • Bunuel1976
    • Feb 25, 2014

    FAQ2

    • Are you sure this movie is from 1959? According to end credits, it's from 1969.
    • Why is this movie titled Die Brucke? From my high school German Der is male, Die is female and Das is for all other words. The Bridge is not female. It should be Das Brucke.

    Details

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    • Release date
      • May 1, 1961 (United States)
      • West Germany
      • German
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Cham, Bavaria, Germany
    • Production company
      • Fono Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 43 minutes
      • Black and White
      • Mono

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    Karl Michael Balzer, Folker Bohnet, Frank Glaubrecht, Michael Hinz, Günter Hoffmann, Volker Lechtenbrink, Günter Pfitzmann, Wolfgang Stumpf, Cordula Trantow, Fritz Wepper, and Bernhard Wicki in The Bridge (1959)
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