08/15 (1954)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Paul May

Writers:

Hans Hellmut Kirst (novel)
Hans Hellmut Kirst (writer) ...

Release Date:

1957 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Sergeant | Nazi Soldier | Nazi | Number As Title

Cast

Joachim Fuchsberger	...	Gefreiter Asch
Helen Vita	...	Lore Schulz
Paul Bösiger	...	Vierbein
Emmerich Schrenk	...	Hauptwachtmeister Schulz
Eva Ingeborg Scholz	...	Elisabeth Asch-Freitag
Gundula Korte	...	Ingrid Asch
Hans Christian Blech	...	Wachtmeister Platzek
Wilfried Seyferth	...	Major Luschke
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mario Adorf	...	Wagner
Peter Carsten	...	Stabsgefreiter Kowalski
Hans Elwenspoek	...	Wachtmeister Werktreu
Reinhard Glemnitz	...	Lindenberg
Harry Hardt	...	Hauptmann Derna
Walter Klock	...	Vater Asch
Herbert Kroll	...	Vater Freitag
Rainer Penkert	...	Leutnant Wedelmann
Rudolf Rhomberg	...	Rumpler
Heinz Peter Scholz	...	Stabsarzt Dr. Sämig (as Heinz-Peter Scholz)
Dietrich Thoms	...	Wunderlich
Wolfgang Wahl	...	Schwitzke

Runtime:

Germany:95 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | West Germany:16 (f) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Divina-Studio, Baldham, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Divina-Film

Trivia:

Mario Adorf's film debut.

Movie Connections:

Followed by 08/15 - Zweiter Teil (1955)

German artillery unit on the brink of war.

This movie isn't actually a war movie but covers the life of German conscripts on the eve of the second world war. They are in the hands of ruthless and sadistic NCOs who are constantly trying to impose harsh measures against the men. The officers on the contrary are shown much more civilized and see themselves somehow as a father-figure. The tension between the privates and their superiors forms hard bonds of friendship between them, although they come from very different social backgrounds. Private Vierbein and Gefreiter Asch are the two protagonists of this film. Vierbein is a sensible piano-player that detests the rudeness and the lack of privacy in the barracks. However he is deeply in love with Asch's sister, who is a full-propagandized Nazi-BDM-girl and demands of him to become an officer. In this tension, he attempts suicide on the shooting range but is hindered by Asch. With Vierbeins stolen ammunition and deep knowledge of the internal processes, the practical and clever Asch is able to land a brilliant coup and to get his nasty superiors all removed from the unit. The film ends with the beginning of the second world war. Many stereotypes about the different ranks were included in the film and in some cases they were played out excessively. Still many German soldiers may find similarities from some of their own experience.