... nur ein Komödiant
Encyclopedia
… nur ein Komödiant is the title of an Austria
n film of 1935. The director was Erich Engel
, temporarily in Vienna
as a political emigrant from Germany
, who with this film made a statement against fascism
and authoritarian government. That it passed the strict censors not only of the Third Reich but of Austria can only have been because all political references were veiled by their setting in a royal court of the 18th century.
The premiere took place on 20 September 1935 in the Ufa-Palast in Hamburg
. The film went on general release in Germany on 9 October 1935, opening in the Capitol in Berlin, and in Austria on 10 January 1936, opening in Vienna.
Duke Theodor, to whose court she is travelling, is known to take no interest in the government of his state, and to leave all state business to Minister von Creven, who oppresses and exploits the people. After Countess Beatrice arrives at court, she is assigned as lady in waiting to the Countess von Röderau. At an evening party she attracts the attention of the Duke, who makes her an offer of marriage. Beate thus becomes his wife.
Florian Reuther's troupe of travelling players arrives in Schönburg. During a discussion about the performance with Duke Karl Theodor, an attempt is made to press the young actor Peter Tamm into service in the army for the colonial wars of the Generalstaaten for which Minister von Creven has hired out Karl Theodor's army. Tamm attempts to escape but in the process falls from the flies onto the stage and is killed. Next day the Minister orders Florian to perform a certain piece. Florian is obliged to decline, as his principal actor is dead, for which he blames the Minister. This angers Von Creven, who strikes him in the face. Florian gets his own back at a masked ball, where he hits von Creven across the face with a riding crop. After this he is in danger, and is hidden by Beate, who has recognised him.
The climax of the film is the release by the people of the comedian Melchior, who had been put under arrest. Creven thereupon has the people rounded up and demands that they surrender whoever is responsible. When this does not happen, Creven orders his captain to shoot into the crowd. The Duke wants to prevent this, but cannot get through. But the captain refuses the order in any case. Florian hears the ensuing argument and decides to intervene, dressed as the Duke, of whom he is an exact double, to order the crowd to disperse. In the role of the Duke he also orders the arrest of the Minister, who pulls out a pistol and shoots him. Florian makes it back to the chambers of Beate, in whose arms he dies. The real Duke is shocked into awareness by these events and resolves that Florian's sacrifice shall not be in vain. He promises to take the affairs of his state seriously from now on, in which Beate will support him.
Captain: I can't do that!
Minister: What is that supposed to mean? Captain, you heard my order!
Captain: I am not a murderer, I am an officer!
Minister: You were an officer!
The film is generally counted as an example of the genre of the Wiener Film
, by virtue of its period setting and overall style, but its serious plot and contemporary political relevance make it much more heavyweight than the usual Wiener Filme, which are almost invariably light musical comedies.
and Rosenhügel Film Studios of Sascha-Film
. The outdoor scenes were shot in Heiligenkreuz
using the local inhabitants as extras.
The Tobis-Klangfilm sound system was used. The set designer was Julius von Borsody
. When checked by the censors the film was 2,593 metres long. The German censors assessed the film on 2 September 1935 and declared the film unsuitable for minors. In Austria the film was declared "artistically noteworthy".
Distribution was carried out by Syndikat-Film, promotion by Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n film of 1935. The director was Erich Engel
Erich Engel
Erich Engel was a German film and theatre director.- Biography :Engel was born in Hamburg, where later he studied at the School of Applied Arts...
, temporarily in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
as a political emigrant from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, who with this film made a statement against fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
and authoritarian government. That it passed the strict censors not only of the Third Reich but of Austria can only have been because all political references were veiled by their setting in a royal court of the 18th century.
The premiere took place on 20 September 1935 in the Ufa-Palast in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. The film went on general release in Germany on 9 October 1935, opening in the Capitol in Berlin, and in Austria on 10 January 1936, opening in Vienna.
Cast
- Rudolf ForsterRudolf ForsterRudolf Forster was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in 106 films between 1914 and 1968. His autobiography Das Spiel, mein Leben was published by Propyläen-Verlag in 1967....
: Duke Karl Theodor von Schönburg / Florian Reuther, actor - Paul WegenerPaul WegenerPaul Wegener was a German actor, writer and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema.-Stage and early film career:...
: Minister von Creven - Hans MoserHans Moser (actor)Hans Moser was an Austrian actor who, during his long career, from the 1920s up to his death, mainly played in comedy films. He was particularly associated with the genre of the Wiener Film...
: Melchior Pfennig - Christl MardaynChristl MardaynChristl Mardayn née Anna Christina Mardayn, sometimes Christiane Mardayne was an Austrian actress and singer .-Life:...
: Beate von Dörnberg - Babette Devrient-Reinhold: Imperial Countess Scharnitz, her aunt
- Hilde von StolzHilde von StolzHilde von Stolz was an Austrian-German actress.von Stolz attended the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna and made her debut at the local Chamber of games...
: Countess Karola von Röderau - Grit Haid: Minna, chambermaid
- Karl Paryla: Anton, her bridegroom
- Franz SchafheitlinFranz SchafheitlinFranz Schafheitlin was a German film actor. He appeared in over 160 films between 1927 and 1974.He was born in Berlin, Germany and died in Bavaria, Germany.-Selected filmography:* The Sorceror...
: Blanchet, court painter - Rudolf CarlRudolf CarlRudolf Carl was an Austrian actor who appeared in more than 150 German language films between 1934 and 1969. He also directed two films Der Leberfleck and Dort in der Wachau.-Selected filmography:* The White Horse Inn...
: court astrologer - Alfred Neugebauer: Master of Ceremonies
- Hans Waschatko: the Duke's secretary
- Lisl Kinast: Martha, actress
- Wilhelm KönigWilhelm KönigWilhelm König was a German archaeologist.A painter by profession, König was also interested in natural science. In 1931 he was elected assistant to the German leader of the Baghdad Antiquity Administration as head of the laboratory...
: Peter Tamm, actor - Paul von Hernried: Velthen, actor
- Robert Valberg: the captain
Plot
The young countess Beate von Dörnberg is travelling to Schönburg to the court of Duke Karl Theodor to take up residence as a lady in waiting. During an interruption in the journey while the coach is being repaired she gets to know two actors. The younger one is rather importunate, but the older one, Florian Reuther, tells her about the art of acting. The conversation is interrupted by the resumption of the journey, and the countess hopes to meet Reuther again.Duke Theodor, to whose court she is travelling, is known to take no interest in the government of his state, and to leave all state business to Minister von Creven, who oppresses and exploits the people. After Countess Beatrice arrives at court, she is assigned as lady in waiting to the Countess von Röderau. At an evening party she attracts the attention of the Duke, who makes her an offer of marriage. Beate thus becomes his wife.
Florian Reuther's troupe of travelling players arrives in Schönburg. During a discussion about the performance with Duke Karl Theodor, an attempt is made to press the young actor Peter Tamm into service in the army for the colonial wars of the Generalstaaten for which Minister von Creven has hired out Karl Theodor's army. Tamm attempts to escape but in the process falls from the flies onto the stage and is killed. Next day the Minister orders Florian to perform a certain piece. Florian is obliged to decline, as his principal actor is dead, for which he blames the Minister. This angers Von Creven, who strikes him in the face. Florian gets his own back at a masked ball, where he hits von Creven across the face with a riding crop. After this he is in danger, and is hidden by Beate, who has recognised him.
The climax of the film is the release by the people of the comedian Melchior, who had been put under arrest. Creven thereupon has the people rounded up and demands that they surrender whoever is responsible. When this does not happen, Creven orders his captain to shoot into the crowd. The Duke wants to prevent this, but cannot get through. But the captain refuses the order in any case. Florian hears the ensuing argument and decides to intervene, dressed as the Duke, of whom he is an exact double, to order the crowd to disperse. In the role of the Duke he also orders the arrest of the Minister, who pulls out a pistol and shoots him. Florian makes it back to the chambers of Beate, in whose arms he dies. The real Duke is shocked into awareness by these events and resolves that Florian's sacrifice shall not be in vain. He promises to take the affairs of his state seriously from now on, in which Beate will support him.
Background
Despite its anti-authoritarian plot this film, critical of fascism, was passed by both the German and Austrian censors, presumably because the period setting masked the contemporary relevance of the content. For example, the film contains a piece of dialogue in which the Minister insists that the captain obey his order to shoot the 70 malcontented and rebellious subjects, which makes clear the contrast between dictatorship and humanitarianism:Captain: I can't do that!
Minister: What is that supposed to mean? Captain, you heard my order!
Captain: I am not a murderer, I am an officer!
Minister: You were an officer!
The film is generally counted as an example of the genre of the Wiener Film
Wiener Film
Wiener Film is an Austrian film genre, consisting of a combination of comedy, romance and melodrama in an historical setting, mostly, and typically, the Vienna of the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
, by virtue of its period setting and overall style, but its serious plot and contemporary political relevance make it much more heavyweight than the usual Wiener Filme, which are almost invariably light musical comedies.
Production
The film was produced by the Horus-Film company of Vienna and filmed in the SieveringSievering
Sievering is a suburb of Vienna and part of Döbling, the 19th district of Vienna. Sievering was created in 1892 out of the two erstwhile independent suburbs Untersievering and Obersievering. These still exist as Katastralgemeinden.- Geography :...
and Rosenhügel Film Studios of Sascha-Film
Sascha-Film
Sascha-Film, in full Sascha-Filmindustrie AG and from 1933 Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie AG, was the largest Austrian film production company of the silent film and early sound film period.-History:...
. The outdoor scenes were shot in Heiligenkreuz
Heiligenkreuz, Lower Austria
Heiligenkreuz is a village in the district of Baden in Lower Austria in Austria. The Cistercian monastery of Heiligenkreuz Abbey, the associated papal college Benedict XVI and the tomb of Mary Vetsera are in the vicinity.-References:...
using the local inhabitants as extras.
The Tobis-Klangfilm sound system was used. The set designer was Julius von Borsody
Julius von Borsody
Julius von Borsody was an Austrian film architect and one of the most employed set designers in the Austrian and German cinemas of the late silent and early sound film periods...
. When checked by the censors the film was 2,593 metres long. The German censors assessed the film on 2 September 1935 and declared the film unsuitable for minors. In Austria the film was declared "artistically noteworthy".
Distribution was carried out by Syndikat-Film, promotion by Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie.
Sources
- Deutsche Tonfilme – Band 06 – 1935. Ulrich J. Klaus Verlag, Berlin 1995 ISBN 3-927352-05-5