''Children, Mother, and the General'' (german: Kinder, Mütter und ein General, and also released as ''Sons, Mothers, and a General'') is a 1955 West German war film directed by László Benedek and starring

Hilde Krahl Hilde Krahl (10 January 1917 – 28 June 1999) was an Austrian film actress. She appeared in 70 films between 1936 and 1994. She was born Hildegard Kolačný in Brod, Austria-Hungary (now Slavonski Brod, Croatia) in 1917, and she died in Vien ...

, Therese Giehse and

Ewald Balser Ewald Balser (5 October 1898 – 17 April 1978) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1935 and 1975. He was born in Elberfeld, Germany and died in Vienna, Austria. Partial filmography * ''Jana, the Girl from the ...

. The film was not a popular success, possibly because its anti-war perspective clashed with support for German

rearmament Rearmament may refer to: *German re-armament (''Aufrüstung''), the growth of the German military in contravention of the Versailles treaty (1930s) *British re-armament, the modernisation of the British military in response to German re-armament ( ...

and membership in NATO.Hake .105 The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Erich Kettelhut and

Johannes Ott Johannes Ott (1919–1995) was a German art director known for his work in the country's film industry. In the early stages of his career he collaborated frequently with the veteran set designer Erich Kettelhut.Kalat p.129 Selected filmography * ...

. It was shot at the

Bavaria Studios Bavaria Studios are film production studios located in Munich, the capital of the region of Bavaria in Germany, and a subsidiary of Bavaria Film. History The studios were constructed in the suburb of Geiselgasteig in 1919 shortly after the Firs ...

in Munich and the Wandsbek Studios in Hamburg. Location filming took place on

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (german: Lüneburger Heide) is a large area of heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen a ...

Cast

as Helene Asmussen *

as General * Therese Giehse as Elfriede Bergmann *

Ursula Herking Ursula Herking (28 January 1912 – 17 November 1974) was a German film actress. She appeared in more than 130 films between 1933 and 1972. She was born in Dessau, Germany and died in Munich, West Germany. Selected filmography * '' Susann ...

as Dr. Behrens, Ärztin * Alice Treff as Pastorin *

Beate Koepnick Beata or Beate is a female given name that occurs in several cultures and languages, including Italian, German, Polish, and Swedish, and which is derived from the Latin ''beatus'', meaning "blessed".''Behind the Name''"Given Name Beate" Retriev ...

as Inge *

Marianne Sinclair Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed ...

as Näherin *

Adi Lödel Adi or ADI may refer to: Names and titles * Adi (mythology), an Asura in Hindu faith who appears in the Matsya Purāṇa * Adi (name), a given name in Hebrew and a nickname in other languages * Adi (title), a Fijian title used by females of chie ...

as Harald Asmussen *

Dieter Straub Dieter or dieter may refer to: * A person committed to dieting People Dieter is a German given name (), a short form of Dietrich, from ''theod+ric'' "people ruler", see Theodoric. Given name * Dieter Althaus (born 1958), German politician ...

as Leo Bergmann *

Holger Hildmann Holger may refer to: People * Holger (given name), includes name origin, plus people with the name * Hilde Holger, stage name of dancer, choreographer and dance teacher Hilde Boman-Behram (née Hilde Sofer, 1905–2001) Fictional characters * Holg ...

as Sohn der Ärztin * Karl-Michael Kuntz as Edmund, Sohn der Pastorin *

Walter Lehfeld Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

as Werner, Sohn der Näherin *

Peter Burger Peter Burger (born 23 October 1954) was a Swiss modern pentathlete. He competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 ...

as Robert, Inges Bruder * Bernhard Wicki as Hauptmann Dornberg * Claus Biederstaedt as Verpflegungsgefreiter * Rudolf Fernau as Stabsarzt * Hans Christian Blech as Feldwebel mit den Orden *

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...

as Leutnant *

Maximilian Schell Maximilian Schell (8 December 1930 – 1 February 2014) was an Austrian-born Swiss actor, who also wrote, directed and produced some of his own films. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1961 American film ''Judgment at Nuremberg'', h ...

as Deserteur *

Alfred Schieske Alfred Schieske (6 September 1908 – 14 July 1970) was a German actor. Career Schieske was born in Stuttgart, the son of a German father and a French mother. He studied acting with Willy Reichert made his stage debut at the Staatstheater Stut ...

as Fahrer mit der Flasche

References

Bibliography

* Hake, Sabine. ''German National Cinema''. Routledge, 2013.

External links

* 1955 films 1955 war films 1950s German-language films German war films West German films Films directed by László Benedek Eastern Front of World War II films Films based on German novels German black-and-white films Films produced by Erich Pommer Films shot at Bavaria Studios Films shot at Wandsbek Studios German World War II films 1950s German films {{WWII-film-stub