IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.2K
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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
suspenseful if predictable
Director Robert Aldrich had his name removed as producer because the studio cut 40 minutes from "Ten Seconds to Hell." He felt without the 40 minutes, the film made no sense. Actually it does, but possibly some of the footage would have added to the suspense.
After the war, German soldiers out of favor with the Reich for a variety of reasons were sent to Berlin to attend to British bombs that hadn't gone off but could if not defused. Interestingly, in 1979, the show Danger UXB covered the exact plot, but with British soldiers working in London.
It's a very dangerous mission, as the bomb could go off in your face.
The team is made up of six people, the main men being a pre-war architect, Koertner (Jack Palance), and an arrogant jerk, Wirtz (Jeff Chandler). Wes Addy, Robert Comthwaite, David Willick and Jim Goodman make up the rest of the team. The men bet half their salaries on staying alive, and anyone standing at the end of the mission win the purse. Koertner is the head of the team, and he and Wirtz both compete for the affections of their landlady, Margot, played by a somewhat overwrought Martine Carol.
This is a predictable story but, given the volatility of the bombs, a lot of suspense. Palance had worked several times with Aldrich and is actually the lead and the good guy rather than the normally heroic Chandler. Both of them are very good.
Sobering, and definitely worth seeing.
After the war, German soldiers out of favor with the Reich for a variety of reasons were sent to Berlin to attend to British bombs that hadn't gone off but could if not defused. Interestingly, in 1979, the show Danger UXB covered the exact plot, but with British soldiers working in London.
It's a very dangerous mission, as the bomb could go off in your face.
The team is made up of six people, the main men being a pre-war architect, Koertner (Jack Palance), and an arrogant jerk, Wirtz (Jeff Chandler). Wes Addy, Robert Comthwaite, David Willick and Jim Goodman make up the rest of the team. The men bet half their salaries on staying alive, and anyone standing at the end of the mission win the purse. Koertner is the head of the team, and he and Wirtz both compete for the affections of their landlady, Margot, played by a somewhat overwrought Martine Carol.
This is a predictable story but, given the volatility of the bombs, a lot of suspense. Palance had worked several times with Aldrich and is actually the lead and the good guy rather than the normally heroic Chandler. Both of them are very good.
Sobering, and definitely worth seeing.
- How long is Ten Seconds to Hell?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,100,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
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