IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
After 1945, six German ex-soldiers are hired to defuse unexploded Allied bombs in the ruins of Berlin.After 1945, six German ex-soldiers are hired to defuse unexploded Allied bombs in the ruins of Berlin.After 1945, six German ex-soldiers are hired to defuse unexploded Allied bombs in the ruins of Berlin.
Wesley Addy
- Wolfgang Sulke
- (as Wes Addy)
Jim Goodwin
- Hans Globke
- (as Jimmy Goodwin)
Jim Hutton
- Workman at Bomb Site
- (uncredited)
Charles Nolte
- Doctor
- (uncredited)
Michael Pate
- Narrator
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJack Palance and director Robert Aldrich had worked together with distinction on two previous occasions - "Attack!" and "The Big Knife" - but fell out most acrimoniously during the making of this film. Aldrich later remarked wryly that it was probably unwise for any director to work more than twice with an actor as volatile as Palance, but nonetheless sought him out yet again a few years later when Palance was offered the role of Archer Maggot in "The Dirty Dozen". It seemed there might be a reconciliation at last, but Palance dropped out at the last minute (because of illness, some sources have claimed) and the part was taken over by Telly Savalas.
- Quotes
Karl Wirtz: I guess it's still my bomb.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Libel (1959)
Featured review
The answer to that question is, "You can't!" I saw this film when it first came out in 1959, and I recently had the opportunity to see it again after 49 long years on Turner Classic Movies. I think the thing that makes this film so memorable to me is that the two leading actors Jeff Chandler and Jack Palance were given the opportunity to "break the mold" so to speak. Chandler who always played "the good guy" and "Palance" who always played "the bad guy" got the opportunity to switch roles. Earlier in their careers Chandler played a Roman Soldier (good guy) opposite Palance's Attila (bad guy) in "Sign of the Pagan". Chandler appears to be having a ball with the role of Karl Wirtz. His speech about how his Uncle Oscar taught him how to "look out for number ono" is reminiscent of the Burt Lancaster (Joe Erin) speech about the man who raised him (Ace Hannah) and how he double crossed him as well in "Vera Cruz". Interstingly enough, both films "Ten Seconds To Hell" and "Vera Cruz" were both directed by Robert Aldrich. The film's plot is about a German Bomb Disposal Unit working for the British after WWII which make a pact that the survivors will split the spoils of their labor after the job is finished. The texture and mood of the black and white film adds to the suspense of the film. One of both Chandler and Palance's best films.
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,100,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
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