Escape from East Berlin

1962
Approved
1h 34m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Christine Kaufmann and Don Murray in Escape from East Berlin (1962)

In 1962, a group of East Berliners escapes to West Berlin through a tunnel dug from the basement of a house located near the Berlin Wall.In 1962, a group of East Berliners escapes to West Berlin through a tunnel dug from the basement of a house located near the Berlin Wall.In 1962, a group of East Berliners escapes to West Berlin through a tunnel dug from the basement of a house located near the Berlin Wall.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

763

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Don Murray

Kurt Schröder

Christine Kaufmann

Erika Jurgens

Werner Klemperer

Walter Brunner

Ingrid van Bergen

Ingeborg Schröder

Edith Schultze-Westrum

Mother Schröder

Bruno Fritz

Uncle Albrecht

Maria Tober

Marga

Horst Janson

Günther Jurgens

Carl Schell

Major Eckhardt

Hans Waldemar Anders

Junkman
(uncredited)

Alfred Balthoff

Klussendorf - a Neighbor
(uncredited)

Georg Bastian

Tillerman - a Volpo (East German Police)
(uncredited)

Erwin Becker

NVA-Grenzbeamter
(uncredited)

Ute Boy

Girl
(uncredited)

Christian Böttcher

Fritz - West Berliner
(uncredited)

Klaus Dahlen

Mechanic
(uncredited)

Ronald Dehne

Helmut Schröder
(uncredited)

Claus Eberth

Policeman
(uncredited)

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
East German police on patrol boats tried to disrupt filming by shining searchlights at the cameras. Director Robert Siodmak assembled a decoy crew to distract the East Germans and filmed the scene along the canal a short distance away.

Goofs
Many of the escapees had suitcases and personal item, like dishes, as if they were going on vacation or moving. People escaping like this would go with the clothes on their backs.

Quotes
Uncle Albrecht: Off to band practice. We are marching in the celebration parade. I don't know what we're celebrating, but we are marching.

Connections
Referenced in Der Tunnel (1999)

User reviews19

Review

Featured review

6/10

a chauffeur plots an escape to the west

Based on a true story and directed by Robert Siodmak, "Escape from East Berlin" is an uneven film about a real-life military chauffeur living in East Berlin (played by Don Murray) who, with the help of family and friends, digs a tunnel in order to escape to West Berlin.

It's probable that with several story changes, "Berlin Tunnel 21," made in 1981, is based on the same true story. I found that film far more suspenseful. However, since the Siodmak film was made around the time that the wall was erected, it captures the atmosphere better. The film begins with a little bit of history, too, which would be interesting to those new to the material.

It looks as if "Escape from East Berlin" was made on a shoestring budget, as some of it seems rushed, and the subplot of Christine Kaufman, as a young woman who hides in the Schroder household and wants to escape with them, seems to have been dropped. Unless I missed it, there is no follow-up as far as her family.

Don Murray heads a German cast that includes Werner Klemperer, and the film was done on location in Berlin. Murray smartly just hints at an accent. Of course one assumes all of these people are actually speaking German.

Certainly this film captures the claustrophobia of those trapped behind the wall and the poor conditions under which they had to live. Definitely worth seeing, though for a nail-biting version of the same story, check out "Berlin Tunnel 21."