It is 1943, and the German army—ravaged and demoralised—is hastily retreating from the Russian front. In the midst of the madness, conflict brews between the aristocratic yet ultimately pusillanimous Captain Stransky and the courageous Corporal Steiner. Stransky is the only man who believes that the Third Reich is still vastly superior to the Russian army. However, within his pompous persona lies a quivering coward who longs for the Iron Cross so that he can return to Berlin a hero. Steiner, on the other hand is cynical, defiantly non-conformist and more concerned with the safety of his own men rather than the horde of military decorations offered to him by his superiors.
Cross of Iron
“On the Eastern front in 1943, the German soldiers no longer had any ideals. They were not fighting for the Party—but for their lives!”
Overview
It is 1943, and the German army—ravaged and demoralised—is hastily retreating from the Russian front. In the midst of the madness, conflict brews between the aristocratic yet ultimately pusillanimous Captain Stransky and the courageous Corporal Steiner. Stransky is the only man who believes that the Third Reich is still vastly superior to the Russian army. However, within his pompous persona lies a quivering coward who longs for the Iron Cross so that he can return to Berlin a hero. Steiner, on the other hand is cynical, defiantly non-conformist and more concerned with the safety of his own men rather than the horde of military decorations offered to him by his superiors.
Director
Sam Peckinpah
Budget
6.0M
Revenue
1.5M
Status
Released
Production
Rapid Film, EMI Films, Terra-Filmkunst, Alex Winitsky / Arlene Sellers Productions
Cast
James Coburn
Unteroffizier / Feldwebel Rolf Steiner
Maximilian Schell
Hauptmann Stransky
James Mason
Oberst Brandt
David Warner
Hauptmann Kiesel
Klaus Löwitsch
Unteroffizier Krüger
Vadim Glowna
Gefreiter Kern
Roger Fritz
Leutnant Treibig
Dieter Schidor
Anselm
Burkhard Driest
Schütze Maag
Fred Stillkrauth
Unteroffizier Schnurrbart
Michael Nowka
Dietz
Véronique Vendell
Marga
Arthur Brauss
Zoll
Senta Berger
Eva
Demeter Bitenc
Hauptmann Pucher (uncredited)
Igor Galo
Leutnant Meyer (uncredited)
Katherine Haber
Nurse Sadie Finkelstein (uncredited)
Wolf C. Hartwig
Hartwig (uncredited)
Wolfgang Hess
Schütze Maag (voice) (uncredited)
Sweeney MacArthur
Boy Soldier (uncredited)
Irfan Mensur
Partizan Soldier (uncredited)
Hermina Pipinić
Ruskinja (uncredited)
Robert Rietti
German Officer (voice) (uncredited)
Dragomir Stanojević
Corporal Joseph Keppler (uncredited)
Slavko Štimac
Michail (uncredited)
Video Gallery
Josh Olson on CROSS OF IRON
