The Big Lift

Director: George Seaton George Seaton

Overview

Filmed on location, The Big Lift is a reenactment of the Berlin airlift of 1948. Flexing their postwar muscles, the Russians blockade the Western sector, refusing to allow the Allies to ship supplies to the starving Berliners. From their headquarters at Templehof Airport, a group of courageous American flyers risk their lives to transport supplies by air. Paul Douglas plays a ground operations sergeant with several scores to settle (he had a hard time of it as a POW during the war), while Montgomery Clift costars as a pilot who inaugurates a doomed love affair with German girl Cornell Borchers.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/01/2017
UPC:	0887936993923
Original Release:	1950
Source:	Film Detective
Language:	English
Sales rank:	31,721

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Montgomery Clift	Danny
Paul Douglas	Hank
Cornell Borchers	Frederica
Bruni Lobel	Gerda
O.E. Hasse	Stieber
Danny Davenport	Private
Bruni Loebel	Gerda
Alfred Newman	Composer

Technical Credits

George Seaton

George Seaton	Director,Screenwriter
William Perlberg	Producer
Fred Sersen	Special Effects
Roger Heman	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

When originally released in 1950, The Big Lift must have had significant impact upon its audience, many of whom were veterans who had first hand experience of combat with Germany and with the conditions of Berlin during the war and soon after. That sense of immediacy and the connection that it brought probably enhanced considerably the experience of Lift; without that, the picture is an average but not outstanding war-related drama, the Cold War era propaganda leanings of which are more evident from several decades on. None of that is to say that Lift is bad, mind you; parts of it are quite effective. But the film lacks cohesion, being one part semi-documentary and one part personal romance story, and the two parts don't fit together in a dramatically satisfying way. Much of the documentary style part of the film is still fascinating, from the details around flight protocol to the actual footage of Berlin at the time the film was shot. The main plot surrounding Montgomery Clift has not aged as well; there's not enough character or relationship development (although the revelation of Frederica's past is quite effective). Clift is quite good, though, as is Paul Douglas, whose anti-German soldier is surprisingly frank for the period. Even better are Cornell Borchers and O.E. Hasse, and there should also be positive mention of Bruni Loebel's pleasing work. Not a great film by any means, but worth a viewing, especially for history buffs.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler