Men of the Blue Cross

Directed by Andrzej Munk

With Stanislaw Byrcyn-Gasienica, Stanisław Wawrytko, Stanisław Marusarz, Stanisław Gąsienica and Ludwik Ziemblic

The final film produced by Warsaw’s Documentary Film Studio is an epic re-enactment of a treacherous mission by the Voluntary Tatra Mountain Rescue Service to aid colleagues stranded behind enemy lines at the close of World War II (several real participants feature in the film). Based on a short story about the rescue by Adam Liberak, Munk’s final “documentary” is also arguably his first major exercise in the craft of narrative filmmaking.