The Search

The Search is a 1948 Swiss-American film directed by Fred Zinnemann which tells the story of a young Auschwitz survivor and his mother who search for each other across post-World War II Europe. It stars Montgomery Clift, Ivan Jandl, Jarmila Novotná and Aline MacMahon. One oft-cited feature of this film is that many of the scenes were shot amidst the actual ruins of post-war German cities, namely Ingolstadt, Munich, Nuremberg, and Würzburg. Filming took place between June and November, 1947, initially on location in Germany, before the cast and crew went to a film studio in Zurich, Switzerland, to film the interior scenes. Although released in the United States in March, 1948, it didn't receive a British release until May, 1950. It's European Premiere was held at the Empire cinema, Leicester Square, London, England, on Wednesday, November 2nd, 1949, in aid of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. By the time that Ivan Jandl's Academy Award for his performance in the film was announced in March, 1949, he had returned to his home in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and the communists had taken over the government. They would not allow Ivan to travel to the United States to receive the Oscar and the Golden Globe he had also been awarded for his role, so they had to be taken to him. At the Academy Awards ceremony, his Oscar was collected on stage on his behalf by the film's director, Fred Zinnemann.