The Doomed Battalion

1932 1h 21m EN

🤯

9.0

MASTERPIECE

★9.0TMDB · 1

DramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Shortly before the First World War, an Italian and an Austrian mountain guides take part in a mountaineering expedition together. Not long afterwards they find themselves fighting on different sides in the same area in the Dolomites, fighting to conquer the same high pass (Col Alto). When the war is over, they meet again. Their friendship has survived the war. American version of the film Berge in Flammen. It uses some scenes from the original German-French version. There is a third version of the film titled Les Monts en Flammes, shot the same year in French.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Luis Trenker
Florian Di Mai
Tala Birell
Maria Di Mai
Albert Conti
Captain Kessler
Victor Varconi
Artur Franchini
Henry Armetta
Angelo
Gustav von Seyffertitz
Austrian General
C. Henry Gordon
Italian General
Gibson Gowland
Innerhofer

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Cyril Gardner
Writers: Luis Trenker
Languages: English, Italian, German
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

81 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

94 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Italian, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Giuseppe Becce. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Clarence Kolster shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Luis Trenker and Tala Birell and Albert Conti carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0022831 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Cyril Gardner directs. Giuseppe Becce scores. Clarence Kolster cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

181 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
294 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Italian, German.
4Original score by Giuseppe Becce. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Clarence Kolster shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Luis Trenker and Tala Birell and Albert Conti carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0022831 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 56 themes, including "italian", "world war i", "italy", "mountaineer".