one oft-cited feature of this film is that many of the scenes were shot amidst the actual ruins of post-war german cities, namely ingolstadt, munich, nuremberg, and würzburg. filming took place between june and november, 1947, initially on location in germany, before the cast and crew went to a film studio in zurich, switzerland, to film the interior scenes. although released in the united states in march, 1948, it didn't receive a british release until may, 1950. its european premiere was held at the empire cinema, leicester square, london, england, on wednesday, november 2, 1949, in aid of the national society for the prevention of cruelty to children. her majesty queen mary attended the premiere. by the time that ivan jandl's academy award for his performance in the film was announced in march, 1949, he had returned to his home in prague, czechoslovakia, and the communists had taken over the government. they would not allow ivan to travel to the united states to receive the oscar and the golden globe he had also been awarded for his role, so they had to be taken to him. at the academy awards ceremony, his oscar was collected on stage on his behalf by the film's director, fred zinnemann.