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.
Jean Gabin
as Le lieutenant Maréchal
Pierre Fresnay
as Le capitaine de Boëldieu
Erich von Stroheim
as Le capitaine von Rauffenstein
Marcel Dalio
as Le lieutenant Rosenthal
Dita Parlo
as Elsa
Julien Carette
as Cartier, l'acteur
Gaston Modot
as L'ingénieur
Georges Péclet
as Le serrurier
Werner Florian
as Le sergent Arthur
Jean Dasté
as L'instituteur
Sylvain Itkine
as Le lieutenant Demolder
Jacques Becker
as L'officier anglais
