Escape from East Berlin
Encyclopedia
Escape from East Berlin is a 1962 film directed by Robert Siodmak
and starring Don Murray
.
is built, and is based on an actual escape on January 28, 1962. Kurt Schröder is a chauffeur to East German Major Eckhardt and his seductive wife Heidi, and lives within sight of the Wall. Kurt is having an affair with Heidi. One night he sees a friend, Günther Jurgens, who works at the garage where Kurt has the Major's car maintained, drive his truck into the wall, and get killed trying to escape to the west. Günther's sister, Erika, comes looking for Günther when he doesn't return, and is told that Kurt saw him last night. She then goes to Kurt's house, where he lives with his mother, Uncle Albrecht (a musician), sister Ingeborg and kid brother Helmut. Erika is intent on escaping to West Berlin, thinking that her brother made it. Kurt, reasonably satisfied with his life, has no intention of risking his life to attempt an escape. Erika then looks out beyond the barbed wire, but Kurt catches her as she tries to crawl under, and they pretend to be lovers to hide her intentions from suspicious guards. Kurt then hides her in his house. A piece of Erika's clothing is caught in the barbed wire, and the guards track her to the Schröder's house. She hides in a room without a floor, and narrowly escapes the guards after they conclude that she could not be in the room.
The Schröders and their neighbors, including a woman named Marga whose husband has already escaped to the west, want to escape East Germany. Kurt comes up with the idea of building a tunnel under the wall, through which they can escape to West Berlin. Although he will mastermind the plan, Kurt has no intention of going with them as he feels he can better serve them by staying behind and being their cover. They drill through the basement wall using Uncle Albrecht's band as a noise cover when the actual drilling takes place. One member of the family keeps watch while the others work on the tunnel itself. After they start digging the tunnel, they are joined by Walter Brunner, to whom Kurt's mother has promised to rent a room. All the while, Kurt is falling in love with Erika, and he eventually summons the courage to tell her that her brother is dead. Because of this burgeoning love, Kurt has changed his mind and will escape with the rest of his family and Erika. On January 27, 1962, the tunnel is completed when just before dawn Kurt reaches the other side, and the breakout is planned for the following night.
However, Marga tells Erika's parents the news of their daughter, and Erika's father, a professor who favors the Communist regime, betrays the escape plan to Major Eckhardt. Kurt learns from Heidi that the authorities are after him (she not knowing why), and he hurries home. When he arrives home, Kurt learns that his family have invited Uncle Albrecht's band members to join the escape, bringing the number of escapees to 28. Kurt tells them of the betrayal, and that they must make their escape immediately. As the police besiege their house, the Schröders, their friends and Erika make their escape, with Kurt bringing up the rear. He is wounded when a soldier fires, and struggles to make his way through the tunnel as he collapses it behind him, but Erika comes back to find and help him. Together they make their way to the exit, where the others have already emerged to live in freedom.
Robert Siodmak
Robert Siodmak was a German born American film director. He is best remembered as a thriller specialist and for the series of Hollywood film noirs he made in the 1940s.-Early life:...
and starring Don Murray
Don Murray (actor)
Donald Patrick "Don" Murray is an American actor.-Early life and career:Murray was born in Hollywood, California on July 31, 1929, the only child of Dennis Aloisius, a Broadway dance director and stage manager and Ethel Murray, a former Ziegfeld performer...
.
Plot
The story occurs in East Berlin soon after the Berlin WallBerlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
is built, and is based on an actual escape on January 28, 1962. Kurt Schröder is a chauffeur to East German Major Eckhardt and his seductive wife Heidi, and lives within sight of the Wall. Kurt is having an affair with Heidi. One night he sees a friend, Günther Jurgens, who works at the garage where Kurt has the Major's car maintained, drive his truck into the wall, and get killed trying to escape to the west. Günther's sister, Erika, comes looking for Günther when he doesn't return, and is told that Kurt saw him last night. She then goes to Kurt's house, where he lives with his mother, Uncle Albrecht (a musician), sister Ingeborg and kid brother Helmut. Erika is intent on escaping to West Berlin, thinking that her brother made it. Kurt, reasonably satisfied with his life, has no intention of risking his life to attempt an escape. Erika then looks out beyond the barbed wire, but Kurt catches her as she tries to crawl under, and they pretend to be lovers to hide her intentions from suspicious guards. Kurt then hides her in his house. A piece of Erika's clothing is caught in the barbed wire, and the guards track her to the Schröder's house. She hides in a room without a floor, and narrowly escapes the guards after they conclude that she could not be in the room.
The Schröders and their neighbors, including a woman named Marga whose husband has already escaped to the west, want to escape East Germany. Kurt comes up with the idea of building a tunnel under the wall, through which they can escape to West Berlin. Although he will mastermind the plan, Kurt has no intention of going with them as he feels he can better serve them by staying behind and being their cover. They drill through the basement wall using Uncle Albrecht's band as a noise cover when the actual drilling takes place. One member of the family keeps watch while the others work on the tunnel itself. After they start digging the tunnel, they are joined by Walter Brunner, to whom Kurt's mother has promised to rent a room. All the while, Kurt is falling in love with Erika, and he eventually summons the courage to tell her that her brother is dead. Because of this burgeoning love, Kurt has changed his mind and will escape with the rest of his family and Erika. On January 27, 1962, the tunnel is completed when just before dawn Kurt reaches the other side, and the breakout is planned for the following night.
However, Marga tells Erika's parents the news of their daughter, and Erika's father, a professor who favors the Communist regime, betrays the escape plan to Major Eckhardt. Kurt learns from Heidi that the authorities are after him (she not knowing why), and he hurries home. When he arrives home, Kurt learns that his family have invited Uncle Albrecht's band members to join the escape, bringing the number of escapees to 28. Kurt tells them of the betrayal, and that they must make their escape immediately. As the police besiege their house, the Schröders, their friends and Erika make their escape, with Kurt bringing up the rear. He is wounded when a soldier fires, and struggles to make his way through the tunnel as he collapses it behind him, but Erika comes back to find and help him. Together they make their way to the exit, where the others have already emerged to live in freedom.
Cast
- Don MurrayDon Murray (actor)Donald Patrick "Don" Murray is an American actor.-Early life and career:Murray was born in Hollywood, California on July 31, 1929, the only child of Dennis Aloisius, a Broadway dance director and stage manager and Ethel Murray, a former Ziegfeld performer...
as Kurt Schröder - Christine KaufmannChristine KaufmannChristine Maria Kaufmann is a German actress. In 1961 she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actress, the only German to be so honoured....
as Erika Jurgens - Werner KlempererWerner KlempererWerner Klemperer was a comedic and dramatic actor, best known for his role as Colonel Klink on the CBS television sitcom, Hogan's Heroes.-Early life:...
as Walter Brunner - Ingrid van BergenIngrid van BergenIngrid van Bergen is a German film actress. She has appeared in 100 films since 1954. She was born in Free City of Danzig, today Gdansk, Poland....
as Ingeborg Schröder - Carl Schell as Major Eckhart
- Edith Schultze-WestrumEdith Schultze-WestrumEdith Schultze-Westrum was a German film actress. She appeared in 64 films between 1932 and 1979.-Selected filmography:* Derrick - Season 3, Episode 06: "Kalkutta"...
as Mother Schröder - Bruno Fritz as Uncle Albrecht
- Maria Tober as Marga
- Horst JansonHorst Janson (actor)Horst Janson is a German film and television actor.-Career:Horst Janson is one of Germany's most popular actors, his career started very early with the film Buddenbrooks in 1959, he also featured in Helmut Käutner’s ‘The glass of water’ 1960 , where he played alongside Gustaf Gründgens, Hilde...
as Günther Jurgens - Kai FischerKai FischerKai Fischer is a German film actress. She has appeared in 54 films between 1955 and 1999.-Selected filmography:* Derrick - Season 5, Episode 10: "Der Spitzel" * The Serpent's Egg * Escape from East Berlin...
as Heidi Eckhart - Kurt WaitzmannKurt WaitzmannKurt Waitzmann was a German film actor. He appeared in 52 films between 1937 and 1969.He was born in Bitterfeld, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany.-Selected filmography:* Neues vom Hexer...
as Prof. Thomas Jurgens - Helma Seitz as Frau Jurgens
- Ronald Dehne as Helmut Schröder