Playing for Time

Playing for Time

150 mins | Drama, History, Music, TV Movie | Sept. 30, 1980

When a Jewish songstress is plucked from the stage and sent to Auschwitz, she and other musicians find themselves assigned to a terrible task—using their talents to soothe fellow prisoners who are sentenced to die in the gas chambers.

Playing for Time

150 mins | Drama, History, Music, TV Movie | Sept. 30, 1980

Playing for Time
When a Jewish songstress is plucked from the stage and sent to Auschwitz, she and other musicians find themselves assigned to a terrible task—using their talents to soothe fellow prisoners who are sentenced to die in the gas chambers.
IMDb rating 7.3
Producers Szygzy Productions
Original title Playing for Time
Directors Daniel Mann, Joseph Sargent
Writers Fania Fénelon, Arthur Miller

Cast

Vanessa Redgrave

as Fania Fenelon

Jane Alexander

as Alma Rose

Maud Adams

as Mala

Robin Bartlett

as Etalina

Marisa Berenson

as Elzvieta

Verna Bloom

as Paulette

Donna Haley

as Katrina

Lenore Harris

as Charlotte

Mady Kaplan

as Varya

Will Lee

as Shmuel

Viveca Lindfors

as Frau Schmidt

Melanie Mayron

as Marianne

Marcell Rosenblatt

as Giselle

Max Wright

as Dr. Josef Mengele

Shirley Knight

as Frau Lagerführerin Maria Mandel

Elaine Bromka

as Tchiakowska

Clarence Felder

as Commandant Kramer

Marta Heflin

as Esther

Martha Schlamme

as Woman on train

Faith Catlin

as Liesle

Dorothy Sherwood

as Berta

Grace Stover

as Greta

Sidney Sandness

as Asthmatic Man

Thomas La Fleur

as Boy Scout

Zvee Scooler

as First Chessplayer

Tom Everett

as Second Chess Player

Mary Kay Fager

as Polish Woman

Mary McGonical

as Tattooer

Phyllis Vanier

as Blockawa

Monica Merriman

as Canadian Girl

Robert Lucey

as Ladislaus

Lorraine Lucey

as Ladislaus' Mother

Lee Jay Nelson

as Edek

Robert Dannon

as SS Officer

Peter Phillips

as British Radio Man

Spencer Waldron

as SS Sergeant

John Griesemer

as German Trooper

Huggy-Bear Ferris

as The Executioner

Al Butler

as Nazi Officer (uncredited)

Jeffrey Marcus

as Rose's Husband (uncredited)

Rick Washburn

as Prisoner (uncredited)