The Search

Screenwriter Paul Jarrico* later recalled that he had asked ironically for "subtractive" credit for the screenplay of The Search, and that the joke had cost him dearly. He had no Hollywood future, although he went on to produce Salt of the Earth and work widely abroad. But there is no doubt that The Search is an extraordinarily moving film, notable as one of the first triumphs of Jewish immigrant director Fred Zinnemann, and arguably the best early film to treat the Holocaust theme. It could also be described as a crucial cinematic experiment. Drawing upon UN documents, utilizing Swiss children for much of the cast (the children of the refugee camps were themselves too fearful), Zinnemann evoked Italian neorealism. As he went on to become an acclaimed director (High Noon, From Here to Eternity and Julia among others), Zinnemann employed blacklistees along with regretful friendly witnesses among his screenwriters. In straightforward plot terms, a mother (played by Jarmila Novotna) searches for her son (Ivan Jandl) lost during the war, while a GI (Montgomery Clift) befriends a boy in a UN camp in occupied Germany. We see the horror of war ruins and the fears of the traumatized children--scenes that Hollywood avoided, newsreels apart. The Search won Academy Award® nominations for Best Picture and Best Direction. It could not be expected to break through to what Zinnemann described as Americans protected by an ocean and vibrant economy from the misery that others suffered. But it reached many of those who could understand. -Paul Buhle *Blacklist victim