The Bridge at Remagen (1969)

As the Allied armies close in, the Germans decide to blow up the last Rhine bridge, trapping their own men on the wrong side. But will it happen?

Director:

John Guillermin

Writers:

Richard Yates (screenplay), William Roberts (screenplay)

Stars:

George Segal, Robert Vaughn, Ben Gazzara

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Segal	...	Lieutenant Phil Hartman
Robert Vaughn	...	Maj. Paul Krueger
Ben Gazzara	...	Sgt. Angelo
Bradford Dillman	...	Major Barnes
E.G. Marshall	...	Brig. Gen. Shinner
Peter van Eyck	...	Gen. Von Brock (as Peter Van Eyck)
Hans Christian Blech	...	Capt. Carl Schmidt
Heinz Reincke	...	Holzgang
Joachim Hansen	...	Capt. Otto Baumann
Sonja Ziemann	...	Greta Holzgang
Anna Gaël	...	French Girl (as Anna Gael)
Vít Olmer	...	Lt. Zimring (as Vit Olmer)
Bo Hopkins	...	Corp. Grebs
Robert Logan	...	Pvt. Bissell
Matt Clark	...	Corp. Jellicoe

Storyline

In the last days of World War II, the Allied Army desperately searched for a bridgehead across the impenetrable Rhine River, in order to launch a major assault into the center of Germany. "Bridge at Remagen" tells the true story of the battle for this last bridgehead, from both the German and American perspective.

---

Plot Keywords:

river rhine | world war two | based on true story | bridge | battle | 

---

Taglines:

A dot on the map. A motion picture adventure as big as history.

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | War

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some war violence and brief nudity.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

23 October 1969 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

El puente de Remagen

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolper Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Average shot length and median shot length = ~6.3 seconds.

---

Goofs

Kreuger says to Von Brock that he heard the Russians were at the Elbe River. The Russians didn't get there until April, after the Remagen bridge was taken. Kreuger should have said the Russians were at the Oder River, which would have been correct for Jan.-Feb. 1945.

---

Quotes

Lt. Phil Hartman: How do you know Stadt Meckenheim isn't crawling with Germans? What if they unload on us?
Major Barnes: Then we'll know, won't we, Lieutenant?

---

Connections

Referenced in Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven' (2000)

User Reviews

Landmark war film with career best performances

Famous for its Apocalypse Now-style production problems. Filmed in then-Czechoslovakia where the then Communist government offered up a whole town (due to be cleared to make way for a strip mine) for cinematic destruction. But halfway through shooting the Russian army invaded to remove reformist president Alexander Dubcek. George Segal and Robert Vaughn give career best performances, but it also marks the moment when US war films moved beyond action-adventure and into a darker realm. The capture of the Remagen Bridge in 1945 was a magnificent feat of arms by the US Army. But in the film account the troops are slovenly, often fearful thugs, slanging and striking their officers, robbing corpses and killing children. It's not really about World War II at all, but about how many Americans saw the Vietnam War. The Bridge at Remagen is out of time, set in 1945 but made in 1968, the year of the Tet Offensive, when the US realised that Vietnam was a lost war. It shows.