The Bread of Those Early Years (German: Das Brot der frühen Jahre) is a 1962 West German film directed by Herbert Vesely, based on the novel The Bread of Those Early Years by Heinrich Böll. It was entered into the 1962 Cannes Film Festival. At the Berlin International Filmfestival 1962, the film was awarded five film awards in gold in the categories of ‘Best Actress’ (Vera Tschechowa), ‘Best Cinematography’ (Wolf Wirth), ‘Best Director’ (Herbert Vesely), ‘Best Music’ (Attila Zoller) and ‘Best Feature-Length Film’ (producer Hansjürgen Pohland).
Cast
Christian Doermer as Walter Fendrich
Karen Blanguernon as Gertrud
Vera Tschechowa as Ulla Wickweber
Eike Siegel as Frau Brotig
Gerry Bretscher as Wolf Wickweber
Tilo von Berlepsch as Vater Fendrich