The Search was the first major motion picture to be filmed in west-occupied Germany after the war. And it's a sorry sight: the cities are in rubble, and are nearly deserted.

The destruction of the war, and of Hitler's genocidal policies, orphaned many thousands of children. These kids of varying heritage, who are both fortunate (as they are alive) and unfortunate, have been herded into makeshift orphanages under the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.

Although it truly is sad to see these frightened and rail-thin children, at the same time the film's sacharrine narration begins to steal its goodwill. Are the orphans children first, or victims? The Search pushes their status as victims, and as a result it robs the kids of much of their humanity.

The story concentrates on young Karel (Ivan Jandl) a wide-eyed lad who has the good fortune to stumble upon the jeep of earnest G.I. Ralph Stevenson (Montgomery Clift). In short order, the formerly silent child speaks fluent English and decides to search aimlessly for his assumedly dead mother.

But as this is a movie, she is not only alive and searching beyond all hope for him, but she is also the kindest and most saintly person who has ever lived. In addition, she has an outstanding singing voice, as the actress who portrays her, Jarmila Novotna, is a professional opera singer.

With the two independently looking for each other, we quickly realize how the film will end. Rarely has a tug on the heartstrings been more predictable and heavy-handed.

Fortunately, the movie picks up when Montgomery Clift makes his appearance. Clift had just finished Red River, perhaps the greatest film ever made, and The Search was only his second movie. The long post-production of Red River ensured that The Search was his first film to be released, and his naturalistic performance led to a nomination for Best Actor.

Clift, still new in the business, was astonished to learn that the dialogue had been amateurishly reworked by David 'Wex' Wechsler, not co-incidentally the son of the film's producer, Lazar Wechsler. Upon threat of legal action, Clift was able to rewrite his lines.

Ironically, the improved script resulted in an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay for David Wechsler, who along with collaborator Richard Schweizer won the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture Story.

Young Ivan Jandl won a special Oscar for Outstanding Juvenile Performance. He never made another film. Also nominated was director Fred Zinnemann, whose best work (including High Noon, From Here to Eternity, and Julia) was yet to come.