The Big Lift 1950
The Big Lift
The Berlin Air Lift from the point of view of two Air Force NCOs who navigate romance in a bombed out post WW2 Germany.
The Berlin Air Lift from the point of view of two Air Force NCOs who navigate romance in a bombed out post WW2 Germany.
Videos & Photos
All 0 Videos & 2 Photoscast
Full Cast & Crew... Sgt. 1st Class Danny MacCullough
... MSgt. Henry "Hank" Kowalski
... Frederica Burkhardt
... Gerda
... Stieber
DVM
Dante V. Morel... Capt. Dante V. Morel
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews27 Dec 2022 by CinemaSerf
This is certainly an authentic, atmospheric looking depiction of immediately post war Berlin as the erstwhile allies start carving up the spoils of victory. The story focusses on Monty Clift as "Danny", a flight engineer working for the US Air Force as the Soviets blockade all ground-based access to the bombed out city, and his pal Paul Douglas ("Kowalski") and follows their various escapades, loves and adventures during the short period of the siege. The story itself isn't really up to much and Clift always suited me better in a cowboy hat than in a military one - somehow he just isn't a particularly plausible soldier. Douglas, on the other hand has much more of a backstory to get our teeth into - his time in a POW camp has hardened his attitude to the German people (though the odd fling isn't entirely out of the question). There is some good aerial photography and that helps keep it interesting for a while, but at two hours long, the plot and characters start to wear quite thin and it begins to look more like a propaganda exercise for domestic consumption. Still, fans of Clift ought to enjoy it.
Directors:
Producers:
Release Date:
Apr 26, 1950 (Germany,United States)
Run Time:
2hr
MMPA Rating:
NR
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
Germany,United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
The Big Lift
This is certainly an authentic, atmospheric looking depiction of immediately post war Berlin as the erstwhile allies start carving up the spoils of victory. The story focusses on Monty Clift as "Danny", a flight engineer working for the US Air Force as the Soviets blockade all ground-based access to the bombed out city, and his pal Paul Douglas ("Kowalski") and follows their various escapades, loves and adventures during the short period of the siege. The story itself isn't really up to much and Clift always suited me better in a cowboy hat than in a military one - somehow he just isn't a particularly plausible soldier. Douglas, on the other hand has much more of a backstory to get our teeth into - his time in a POW camp has hardened his attitude to the German people (though the odd fling isn't entirely out of the question). There is some good aerial photography and that helps keep it interesting for a while, but at two hours long, the plot and characters start to wear quite thin and it begins to look more like a propaganda exercise for domestic consumption. Still, fans of Clift ought to enjoy it.
Cast & Crew of
The Big Lift
Directors & Credit Writers
... Director
Cast
... Sgt. 1st Class Danny MacCullough
... MSgt. Henry "Hank" Kowalski
... Frederica Burkhardt
... Gerda
... Stieber
DVM
Dante V. Morel... Capt. Dante V. Morel
JRM
John R. Mason... Capt. John R. Mason
GRP
Gail R. Plush... Capt. Gail R. Plush
MB
Mack Blevins... Capt. Mack Blevins
... Capt. William A. Stewart
... 1st Lt. Alfred L. Freiburger
GA
Gerald Arons... 1st Lt. Gerald Arons
JW
James Wilson... 1st Lt. James Wilson
... 1st Lt. Richard A. Kellogg
RRS
Roy R. Steele... 1st Lt. Roy R. Steele
Produced By
... Producer