The Big Lift (1950)

Released: 26 April, 1950
Language: English
Country: USA
Film: Black and White
Genre: Drama/War

Starring: Montgomery Clift, Paul Douglas

Filmed on location all over, including Berlin, Germany; O'ahu, Hawaii, USA; Azores, Portugal; and a bunch of other places I just don't feel like listing.


The cast also features over 30, real life, military pilots. Sadly, this accounts for some of the bad acting.

The General Plot:

It takes place in 1948, during the Soviet blockade of Berlin, and the beginning of the Berlin Air Lift. This acts as the backdrop for 2 USAF pilots, Sgt. Hank Kowalski and Sgt. Danny McCullough, to explore the beaten down city and come to terms with both their own and other inner demons. Hank (Paul Douglas) struggles with his hatred of the Germans, partly caused by PTSD (which no one had heard of then, and even "shell-shock" didn't cover everything). Meanwhile, Danny (Montgomery Clift) falls for a German war widow, that you can't decide whether or not is legit.

My Take On It:

As for drama, it moves so slowly, and the characters are fairly forgettable, so it makes it really hard to sit through and actually finish. I didn't get caught up in the story, which is sad, because it has a good, workable storyline. What's worse, is the film can't seem to make up it's mind whether or not it wants to be a dramatization for documentary or actual entertainment.

As for the tech side of the film, it's pretty good. You can tell that they probably skimped on equipment and didn't use the best available so that they could afford to film with the cooperation of the military and on all the various locations, but it's not so bad as to distract you. 

Overall, I'd like to see this movie remade. I'm usually not a fan taking perfectly good movies and redoing them simply because they're old or people can't think of anything new (as much as I love Harrison Ford they should never have remade Sabrina), but this one missed it's potential. I think in the right hands (Spielberg or Cameron), with some work on the script, maybe and one or two more twists, a flashback here or there, it could be a real blockbuster, possibly rise to the glory of Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan.

While I wouldn't recommend this film for everyone, it is worth looking at if you're history or movie buff. Due to it's great potential and unfortunate failure to achieve it, I'm giving The Big Lift 2.5 out of 5 remotes.