As of: April 2, 2024, 3:21 p.m
By: Friedbert Holz
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Initiator Dave Bull with Manfred Bradler and Franz Brummer (from left), who contributed old bicycles. © J. Dziemballa
Markt Schwaben as a backdrop for the re-enactment of the US film “Broken Chains”: A film-crazy Brit makes it possible.
Markt Schwaben – When famous films are based on true events, they sometimes tempt you to search for the actual locations and awaken the investigative spirit of film fans. Dave Bull (77) from Central England couldn't resist this temptation either: As an ardent admirer of the US film "Breaking Chains", which was also shot near Markt Schwaben in 1962, he really wanted to re-shoot a film scene with himself as an actor. We have already reported on this somewhat quirky idea, but now the Brit was actually there to film.
Wednesday, March 27th, shortly after 11 a.m.: Dave Bull is noticeably excited, waiting on the market square in Markt Schwaben with an old suitcase. Swabia's town hall once stood where a scene from the film about the escape of American and British officers from German captivity was once filmed.
Props come from the region
“Here,” reports the historically well-versed film tourist, “in the film there were two bicycles leaning against a wall, one of which the officer Louis Sedgwich, played by James Coburn, stole in order to escape to freedom.” In order to reenact exactly this scene himself, Dave Bull also borrowed “real” clothing from that time, all in style, including a flat cap on his head.
A friend from the Bavaria film studios gave him the old suitcase for the shoot; he had asked the editorial team of the local newspaper about the bikes. In fact, our search was successful: Franz Brummer from Anzing brought his old bike to the Marktplatz filming location, “from 1948”, Manfred Bradler from Berganger also contributed a historical example. “The German Reich Patent is still written on the rear wheel hub, we found the bike in the forest, it even has a camouflage paint job.”
Dave Bull recreates the cycling scene in a slightly shaky manner
Now all that was left was to recreate the scene true to the original: Dave Bull positioned the two old bikes on a metal post and secured them with a small, silver chain - just like in the film. Then, with a determined look and the old suitcase in his hand, he walked up to the cycling duo and cleverly cut the chain with a special instrument. Finally, he placed the slightly oversized suitcase on the luggage rack of a bike, looked around for possible pursuers and finally drove off, slightly unsteadily, in the direction of Schweiger Brauhaus. “The suitcase is actually much too big, I almost lost it on the trip,” said Bull, but otherwise he was quite happy with his own film scene.
His two friends, Josef Cerchione, who actually comes from Naples but has lived on the British island for over 60 years, and Simon Suthers from Liverpool, captured this event precisely with their film cameras. They had traveled with Dave Bull on a two-day car tour from England to Markt Schwaben, with an overnight stay in Reims, France.
And their historical tour on former film traces shouldn't be over yet. “This afternoon we are driving on to Hopfen am See in the Allgäu. Bull reported that the 94-year-old hotelier who once hosted leading actor Steve McQueen and his entire film crew during filming lives there. We've known him for a long time and he'll certainly show us the little ball that McQueen gave him as a souvenir of his stay back then."
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It's about the ball that the former US star in the film "Broken Chains" cleverly throws against the wall of his camp barracks and catches it again - countless times. Dave Bull will certainly play his scene as a short actor at home very often, hopefully with good memories of Markt Schwaben.
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