The Search (1948)
- Starring:
- Montgomery Clift, Aline MacMahon, (more)
- Director(s):
- Fred Zinnemann
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- NR
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Although Montgomery Clift shot this film following Red River (1948), it was released six months earlier and the combined success of both immediately made him a star. The film, which was the first to be made in Europe after WWII with an American director and cast, was partially based on Europe's Children, a book of photographs by Therese Bonney documenting the orphans of the war. Shot in the American occupied zone of Germany, much of the film, the product of years of research, was based on actual incidents. It opens at the UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration camp at which war orphans, who have been found wandering through bombed-out ruins, are given temporary housing. The severely traumatized children, many of whom are survivors of concentration camps whose parents are dead, find normal communication almost impossible. Karel Malik (Ivan Jandl), a young Czech boy, is one of these. His mother, Hanna (Jarmilia Novotna), lost contact with him when they were in Auschwitz and she now travels from one refugee camp to another in search of her son. While being transported in an ambulance, some of the children, including Karel, break out and scatter. American G.I. Ralph Stevenson Clift finds him wandering aimlessly, takes him back to his base to feed him, and begins to teach him English. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Complete Cast:
- Montgomery Clift - Ralph Stevenson
- Jarmila Novotna - Mrs. Malik
- Ivan Jandl - Karel Malik
- Mary Patton - Mrs. Fisher
- Claude Gambler - Raoul Dubois
- Aline MacMahon - Mrs. Murray
- Ewart G. Morrison - Mr. Crookes
- Wendell Corey - Jerry Fisher
- Will Rogers, Jr. - Tom Fisher
- Leopold Borkowski - Joel Makowsky
- Director(s):
- Fred Zinnemann
- Writer(s):
- Paul Jarrico, Richard Schweizer, David Wechsler
- Producer(s):
- Lazar Wechsler
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- NR(Mild Violence, Suitable for Children)
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- 1949 - The Search - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - United Nations Award
- 1948 - The Search - Golden Globe - Best Motion Picture Promoting International Understanding
- 1948 - The Search - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Motion Picture Promoting International Understanding
- 1948 - The Search - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Juvenile Performance
- 1948 - The Search - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Screenplay
- 1948 - The Search - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Screenplay
- 1948 - The Search - New York Times - 10 Best Films






