MovieChat Forums > The Big Lift (1950) Discussion > well worth seeing

well worth seeing

posted 15 years ago by deschreiber
6 replies | jump to latest

"The Big Lift" is not a great film, but it's well worth seeing for several reasons. First and foremost, for me, is the view it gives of life in Germany among the ruins right after World War II. The backgrounds of so many scenes showing the devastation, streets without a single inhabitable building, and the struggle of the people to survive, are very moving things to see.

In the chase scene, one shot shows an enormous ruined concrete construction, like some kind of blockhouse. I wonder if that's the famous monster antiaircraft gun emplacement in Berlin?

Second, the film raises a number of important ethical questions belonging to the time. What attitude should be taken to a people who only recently started and waged a vicious war and committed unspeakable atrocities? How to distinguish between the innocent, the guilty, and all the shades in between? What went wrong in Germany to take them down that path? Sometimes these issues are expressed in rather awkward speechifying, but the speeches fit reasonably well into the situations the characters are in. I was impressed that the Germans were even allowed to point out shame aspects of life in America, especially American antisemitism.

I didn't feel the love story was particularly credible. For the American to be so strongly attracted to the woman at first sight, surely she'd have to be compellingly alluring and beautiful, not merely nice-looking, as Cornell Borchers was. Also, she looked a little too old for him. I did like one touch, though - the little, knowing smile on her face as he eagerly copied down her telephone number. At that moment she looked much older and wiser than him.

[–] sadmad55 15 years ago

Agree totally that this was a very interesting film. It would be fascinating to go to the areas where certain scenes were filmed and see how they look today.

It's astounding to think that, four years after the end of World War 2, when 'The Big Lift' was filmed, that Berlin could STILL be in such a state of total devestation -- ruined buildings, rubble in the streets, etc. Recall one of the characters talking about how they only had electricity on alternate days? Much the same tableau can be seen in 'The Search' and 'The Third Man' -- both of which appeared at approximately the same time and were shot on location in post-war Germany and Austria.

A book called 'After The Reich' came out a couple of years ago, dealing with the subject of the Allied occupation of post-WW2 Germany. It painted a picture of conditions there being far worse than anyone in the United States was aware of at the time, or for years afterwards. Remember there was actually a thought at that time -- suggested by former Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau -- that Germany be stripped entirely of her heavy industry and made into a pastoral nation. The ordinary German paid a terrible price for Hitler's War.

It also gave an insight into the enormous complexities of the Berlin Airlift, which should be remembered as one of America's great, shining moments.

Yes, deschreiber, visit Youtube most any day, with most any topic, and you'll find that Germans are still very good at pointing out the various flaws of America.

[–] eric-1501 13 years ago

That giant ruined building was probably a nazi-era invention called a Flack
Tower - - part massive bomb-shelter, part defence weapons platform.

"Could be worse."
"Howwww?"
"Could be raining."

[–] Reedmalloy 9 years ago

I'm not trying to cause any dust-up, but it is quite obvious you have never been in the military, as an enlisted man, stationed overseas in a poor country under wartime or near-wartime conditions.

The situation between Danny and Frederica occurred literally every day in post-war Europe and Japan. I thought it refreshing that the script actually dared reveal the numerous scams that took place because of the ages of the gullible young Americans involved (the opposite of the story in Sayonara), but to be fair, many strong happy marriages also came about.

As an Air Force brat I knew at least one such family at every base we lived at, and usually more, and I can tell you from first hand observation that the wives and mothers were valued for their characters and inner beauty, not for being "compellingly alluring." That, my friend, is largely a product of the superficial age we live in now.

[–] whiskeyTango-06 9 years ago

well put and quite thoughtful.

[–] jameslna-35095 9 years ago

Yes, great movie for all the scenes of recent post-war Berlin. You are correct about the "monster anti-aircraft gun emplacement". It was called the 'Zoo-Bunker' by Berliners because of its close proximity to the city's zoo in the Tiergarten, and was the first of three completed, the other two being in the Friedrichshain district and the Humbolthain district.

They were all actually large air-raid shelters with Flak batteries on top, four pairs of 128mm guns with lighter guns as well for low-level defence. The two shown in the film, all too briefly, were the smaller supporting tower, the 'Leitturm' which housed the fire control radar, and the larger one, the massive 'Gefechtsurm' which mounted the guns, provided shelter for thousands of Berliners during raids and also stored the city's valuables. It also contained a fully equipped hospital.

The British twice attempted to demolish them with explosives during their occupation and in the film you can clearly see the results as they stood in 1949, hardly much head-way and in the end it took a huge amount of work. They were enormous and contained thousands of tons or reinforced concrete.

The chase scene referred to was filmed in the Charlottenburg- Tiergarten- Mitte area of the west central area of the city which was badly damaged by the RAF raids of late '43 early '44 and is clearly obvious, virtually nothing remains standing except the zoo towers.

[–] tjk1911 8 years ago

Just saw this on TCM, a very interesting movie without the usual Hollywood happy ending. Loved that it went that way.

I did like one touch, though - the little, knowing smile on her face as he eagerly copied down her telephone number. At that moment she looked much older and wiser than him.

I saw that, but another interesting touch was when they were walking through the area with all the statues and stop at the one of Frederick the Great. She says it's The Garden of Victors, or something like that and Danny replies with some somewhat disparaging comment, and her face shows a flash of anger that he doesn't see. Then she swallows it and returns to having a pleasant expression.