The misfortunate Oscar
An Academy Award: sign of triumph, success and recognition? Not always. In the case of u0022The Searchu0022 by Zurich-based Praesens-Film, the award was more a symbol of frustration and pain. It even ruined half the life of one of its recipients.
Michèle Wannaz
Michèle Wannaz is co-curator of the exhibition "Simply Zurich" at National Museum Zurich.
What a joy, actually. Theoretically. Well: maybe a little practical too. But really only to a limited extent. Because this Oscar was a symbol of recognition on the outside, but emotionally bitterly charged for the two winners Richard Schweizer and David Wechsler, the screenwriters of "The Search". The film was a co-production of the Zurich-based company Praesens-Film with Hollywood's MGM.
Trailer of the 1948 film u0022The Searchu0022. YouTube
In the spring of 1946, based on a true incident, Lindtberg developed the story of a grandmother who crosses devastated Europe in search of her grandchildren. Their parents, who were in the circle of Claus von Stauffenberg, had been shot after the failed assassination attempt on Hitler, the children abducted, given a new identity and housed in widely scattered places.
After the release of "The Search", Zinnemann wrote to Lindtberg about the unease he felt about the success of the film, since the idea actually came from the latter and that he "should have made the film!" Nonetheless, he gladly accepted when Wechsler made the offer. The story of an American soldier in the occupation zone who takes care of a disturbed orphan boy touched him. And he also liked the fact that the whole thing was to be filmed in a semi-documentary style – in the real ruins of the war and partly with lay people, above all children who experienced the crimes of the Nazis first-hand, some of whom were even in a concentration camp.
Clift signed his contract with Zurich on the basis of Viertel's script. But Wechsler still found it too political, which endangered commercial success. He handed it over to Richard Schweizer, whose son David then edited it again. Exact details of place and time disappeared to a large extent. The orphan's Jewish parents became Czech intellectuals, the Wehrmacht and SS became an anonymous "secret police". Moreover, the children were no longer Nazi victims, but undefined "orphans of war". Viertel, whose family were themselves victims of National Socialism, was so outraged that he withdrew his name. And Clift could hardly calm down either. When he read the final version of the script - already contractually obligated, to his chagrin - he called it a terrible Sacharin concentrate and wrote in horror: "Like 'The Wilderness Calls', only sweeter!"
Wechsler could not believe how little his leading actor stuck to the script and how poorly he could be understood because he continuously chewed gum while acting - authentically, "like a real soldier". He bombarded him with registered letters (up to three a day), which were brought to Clift on the set, whereupon the latter confided to a friend: "This Wechsler is unbelievable. He's forcing everyone to waste their time writing letters or arguing with their lawyers." The conflict was so gruelling for the crew that in the meantime - the unsuitable weather for filming did the rest - they even considered cancelling the whole thing.
Oscar and Criticism for the Screenplay
So it is hard to assume that Richard Schweizer and David Wechsler only felt good when they accepted this Oscar. They, of all people, were accused by a part of the creative core of the team that the film would have been much better without their help. But while the internal wrangling probably only dampened their joy, the award ceremony meant downright misfortune for Ivan Jandl, who played the orphan boy and also received the honorary Oscar for best child actor at the same ceremony. In fact, it even screwed up his life. At least his professional life. The fear of the politically incorrect connotation was also decisive here - albeit under completely different circumstances than in the reworking of the script by Lazar Wechsler.
Simply Zurich
The City and Canton of Zurich have a long and chequered history. This will be showcased in this permanent exhibition at the National Museum. From the model of a pile dwelling hut to the muesli grater and the flag of a youth movement, the show puts Zurich's rich past in the spotlight and brings an added dimension to the numerous historical objects with cinematic installations and state-of-the-art technology giving visitors a multimedia experience.
