Following Montgomery Clift's success in his debut film The Search, he played another soldier stationed abroad in The Big Lift. In this one, he's paired with overnight sensation Paul Douglas, providing an opposing physical and energetic force. They play Air Force Sergeants stationed in Berlin who are trying to balance post-war goodwill and natural post-war prejudice. Although the two leads didn't get along during filming, that really didn't matter to the overall integrity of the movie. Since their characters' personalities clash, it all worked out.
Paul's character is the more cynical one. He doesn't really think the Germans and Americans can get along, and that all the goodwill gestures are merely that. Providing food and helping build reconstruction can only go so far, so they should only take the Germans' gratitude with a grain of salt. Monty thinks they're really making progress, and when a German widow, Cornell Borchers shows romantic interest in him, he believes it's proof that German-American relations can be mended.
There was a fantastic category at the Golden Globes that no longer exists: Best Film Promoting International Understanding. I wish they'd bring it back, because that's part of the significance of the Golden Globes, for the foreign press to award international films and expose audiences to art outside their borders. Retired in 1964, this excellent category has been sorely missed. The Big Lift was nominated during the 1950 season, and when you watch it explore the different viewpoints of international relations, you understand why.
Paul's character is the more cynical one. He doesn't really think the Germans and Americans can get along, and that all the goodwill gestures are merely that. Providing food and helping build reconstruction can only go so far, so they should only take the Germans' gratitude with a grain of salt. Monty thinks they're really making progress, and when a German widow, Cornell Borchers shows romantic interest in him, he believes it's proof that German-American relations can be mended.
There was a fantastic category at the Golden Globes that no longer exists: Best Film Promoting International Understanding. I wish they'd bring it back, because that's part of the significance of the Golden Globes, for the foreign press to award international films and expose audiences to art outside their borders. Retired in 1964, this excellent category has been sorely missed. The Big Lift was nominated during the 1950 season, and when you watch it explore the different viewpoints of international relations, you understand why.