''Children, Mother, and the General'' (, and also released as ''Sons, Mothers, and a General'') is a 1955 West German

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

László Benedek László Benedek (; March 5, 1905 – March 11, 1992; sometimes ''Laslo Benedek'') was a Hungarian-born film director and cinematographer, most notable for directing ''The Wild One'' (1953). He gained recognition for his direction of the film v ...

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 Therese Giehse (; 6 March 1898 – 3 March 1975), born Therese Gift, was a German actress. Born in Munich to German-Jewish parents, she first appeared on the stage in 1920. She became a major star on stage, in films, and in political cabaret. In ...

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 and membership in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

.Hake .105 The film's sets were designed by the

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

Erich Kettelhut Erich Karl Heinrich Kettelhut (1 November 1893 – 13 March 1979) was a German production designer, art director and set decorator. Kettelhut is considered one of the most important artists in the history of early German cinema, mainly for his s ...

and

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

. 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 ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and the

Wandsbek Studios The Wandsbek Studios are film production and television studios located in Wandsbek, a district of the German city of Hamburg. The complex was established in 1948 when Real Film, set up the previous year, acquired a site in Wandsbek for construc ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Location filming Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. When filmmaking professionals refer to shooting "on location", they are ...

took place on

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (, ) is a large area of heath (habitat), 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 and is ...

Cast

as Helene Asmussen *

as General *

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 * '' Susanne ...

as Dr. Behrens, Ärztin *

Alice Treff Alice Martha Treff (4 June 1906 – 8 February 2003) was a German film actress. She appeared in more than 120 films between 1932 and 2001. She was born and died in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * '' Peter Voss, Thief of Millions'' ...

as Pastorin *

Beate Koepnick Beata or Beate is a female given name or Portuguese surname that occurs in several cultures and languages, including Italian language , Italian, German language, German, Polish language, Polish, and Swedish language, Swedish, and which is deriv ...

as Inge * Marianne Sinclair as Näherin * Adi Lödel 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. Rarely, it is a German form of the given name Theodore. Given ...

as Leo Bergmann * Holger Hildmann as Sohn der Ärztin * Karl-Michael Kuntz as Edmund, Sohn der Pastorin * Walter Lehfeld as Werner, Sohn der Näherin * Peter Burger as Robert, Inges Bruder *

Bernhard Wicki Bernhard Wicki (28 October 1919 – 5 January 2000) was an Austrian-Swiss actor, film director and screenwriter. He was a key figure in the revitalization of post-war German-language cinema, particularly in West Germany, and also directed se ...

as Hauptmann Dornberg * Claus Biederstaedt as Verpflegungsgefreiter *

Rudolf Fernau Rudolf Fernau (7 January 1898 – 4 November 1985) was a German actor who appeared in 53 films between 1936 and 1982. Biography Fernau was born and died in Munich, Germany. A Nazi Party member, he was sentenced to nine months in prison a ...

as Stabsarzt *

Hans Christian Blech Hans Christian Blech (20 February 19155 March 1993) was a German film, stage and television character actor who found success in both Germany and Hollywood. Career He served in the German Army and fought on the Eastern Front during World War II ...

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 ...

as Leutnant *

Maximilian Schell Maximilian Schell (8 December 1930 – 1 February 2014) was a Swiss actor. Born in First Austrian Republic, Austria, his parents were involved in the arts and he grew up surrounded by performance and literature. While he was still a child, his fa ...

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 Stutt ...

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 Films scored by Werner Eisbrenner German-language war films {{WWII-film-stub