Homeless children in Berlin, 1948. Even though they're being helped, they just see any uniforms as danger, hardly speak, obey wordlessly. It's quite a beginning, seeing them in that state. And our focus is on Ivan Jandl, an almost dumb fugitive and prison camp tatooed, who escapes the first chance he gets and is almost killed, but eventually falls into the care of US soldier Montgomery Clift. Then, the healing can begin. But meanwhile his mum Jarmila Novotna searches for him, helped by Aline MacMahon (Gold Diggers of 1933, Out of the Fog, The Man From Laramie). With Wendell Corey.
It's a very interesting film, using bombed out Berlin well. And in fact it's not an American production: Screenplay by Richard Schweizer, David Wechsler and Paul Jarrico, photographed by Emil Berna, edited by Hermann Haller, music by Robert Blum. Released by MGM but in fact a Praesens Film Zurich production.
Also interesting as Zinnemann was one of Wilder's Berlin buddies in the early thirties; they worked together on People on Sunday.
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