The Big Lift (1950)
Director: George Seaton
Actors: Montgomery Clift, Paul Douglas, Cornell Borchers
Runtime: 120 min.
A fictional reenactment of Berlin in 1948. After the Russians blockade the Western part of the city, the Allies must supply starving West Berlin by air, flying cargo planes into Tempelhof airport in an operation that has become known as The Berlin Airlift.
Trivia: With the exception of the roles played by Montgomery Clift and Paul Douglas, all military roles were portrayed by actual military personnel stationed in Berlin. The movie was released April 26, 1950, less than one year after the Soviet blockade of Berlin was lifted and the air lift operations ceased. Because the film was shot in Berlin in 1949, it provides a unique glimpse of the post-war state of the city as it struggles to recover from the devastation wrought during WWII. Director George Seaton was best known as a screenwriter. He was a five-time Academy Award nominee, winning the Best Screenplay award twice including for Miracle on 34th Street (1948).