A group of French soldiers, including the patrician Captain de Boeldieu and the working-class Lieutenant Maréchal, grapple with their own class differences after being captured and held in a World War I German prison camp. When the men are transferred to a high-security fortress, they must concoct a plan to escape beneath the watchful eye of aristocratic German officer von Rauffenstein, who has formed an unexpected bond with de Boeldieu.

Genres

Cast

Jean Gabin

Le lieutenant Maréchal

Pierre Fresnay

Le capitaine de Boëldieu

Erich von Stroheim

Le capitaine von Rauffenstein

Marcel Dalio

Le lieutenant Rosenthal

Dita Parlo

Elsa

Julien Carette

Cartier, l'acteur

Gaston Modot

L'ingénieur

Georges Péclet

Le serrurier

Jean Dasté

L'instituteur

Sylvain Itkine

Le lieutenant Demolder

Jacques Becker

L'officier anglais

Habib Benglia

Le sénégalais