The Bridge at Remagen

The Bridge at Remagen
Theatrical poster
Directed byJohn Guillermin
Written byRoger O. Hirson
Screenplay byWilliam Roberts
Richard Yates
Based onThe Bridge at Remagen (1957 book)
by Kenneth William Hechler
Produced byDavid L. Wolper
StarringGeorge Segal
Robert Vaughn
Ben Gazzara
Bradford Dillman
E. G. Marshall
CinematographyStanley Cortez
Edited byWilliam Cartwright
Music byElmer Bernstein
Production
company
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • June 25, 1969 (1969-06-25)
Running time
117 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[1]
Box office$1.6 million (US/ Canada rentals)[2]

The Bridge at Remagen is a 1969 DeLuxe Color war film in Panavision starring George Segal, Ben Gazzara, and Robert Vaughn. The film, which was directed by John Guillermin,[3] was shot in Czechoslovakia. It is based on the nonfiction book The Bridge at Remagen: The Amazing Story of March 7, 1945 by writer and U.S. Representative Ken Hechler.[4] The screenplay was adapted by Richard Yates and William Roberts.[3]

The film is a highly fictionalized version of actual events during the last months of World War II, when the U.S. 9th Armored Division approached Remagen and captured the intact Ludendorff Bridge. While the real battle ran for a week and involved several artillery duels between the U.S. troops and German defenders, the film focuses more specifically on the heroism and human cost in gaining the bridgehead across the Rhine before the Allies' final advance into Germany. The Remagen bridge was never rebuilt; the towers on each bank were converted into a museum and arts studios.

  1. ^ "Wolper Recovers (At a Price) Indie Status: Plans Two Theatricals Yearly". Variety. January 15, 1969. p. 17.
  2. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1969", Variety, January 7, 1970 p. 15
  3. ^ a b "The Bridge at Remagen". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  4. ^ Hechler, Ken (1998). The Bridge at Remagen: The Amazing Story of March 7, 1945: The Day the Rhine River Was Crossed (2nd ed.). Norwalk, Connecticut: Easton Press. ASIN B00DEV0U0M.