The Bridge at Remagen
Filming in Czechoslovakia was interrupted by the Soviet invasion of August 1968. Cast and crew were taken to safety in a convoy of 28 taxis, except for Robert Logan, who stayed behind with film gear in order to capture the invasion on film and photo. According to the book "Bill Collins Presents The Golden Years of Hollywood", a half-replica of the bridge was built near Castelgandolfo, the Pope's summer residence south of Rome, and the film was completed in Hamburg (Germany) and various Italian locations. In 2007, BBC Radio aired "Solo Behind The Iron Curtain" a drama based on the invasion, starring as himself.,Toward the end of the film Maj. Paul Krüger makes his way back to army high command to speak with Generaloberst von Brock when he is arrested by the SS. Outside the Wehrmacht (Army) HQ, Several SS officers are seen wearing the famous 1930's era black SS uniforms. This is a very common mistake in many WW2 films. The Black SS uniforms were discontinued at the start of the war in 1939 and replaced by the green/grey uniform. Only Waffen SS tank crews wore black uniforms in combat. This was not, however, the all-black uniform worn by the pre-war SS, but rather a short, black waist-cut coat similar in style to that worn by tank crews in the Wehrmacht.,[Kreuger is offered a last cigarette before he is executed by firing squad. He and the Nazi Officer hear planes]
Major Paul Kreuger: Ours or theirs?
Nazi Officer: Enemy planes, sir.
Major Paul Kreuger: But who is the enemy?,Featured in An Officer and a Movie: Bridge at Remagen (2011),This has to be one of the best war movies made in the 1960s, an era when all too often filmmakers went overboard in glorifying war while glossing over its horrors and populating their movies with larger-than-life hero characters who could have come straight out of a boys' comic. This movie doesn't fall into that trap. The characters - both German and American - are believable, and the movie sets and the equipment used (with the glaring exception of Korean War era American tanks) are authentic for the period. With so many WWII Sherman tanks and other vehicles still in museums, private collections and (at least back in the 60s) still in use in large numbers in the armies of several smaller countries, it has always been a puzzle to me as to why so many moviemakers took the simple option and used anachronistic military hardware in WWII movies, presumably assuming that the average moviegoer wouldn't even notice or wouldn't care. The most horrible example of this is the 1965 movie "Battle Of The Bulge". But I digress. Ignoring the tank factor, "The Bridge At Remagen" is a great movie. The best performance among many strong ones in this film has to be that of Ben Gazzara as Sergeant "Angel" Angelo, and the scene in which he kills the German sniper is extremely strong, moving stuff. Highly recommended.,