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Die Feuerzangenbowle (1944 film)
Encyclopedia
is a 1944 German film, directed by Helmut Weiss and is based on the book of the same name
. It follows the book closely as its author, Heinrich Spoerl
, also wrote the script for the movie. Both tell the story of a famous writer going undercover as a student at a small town secondary school after his friends tell him that he missed out on the best part of growing up by being educated at home. The story in the book takes place during the time of the Wilhelminian Empire in Germany. The movie was produced and released in Germany during the last years of World War II
and has been called a "masterpiece of timeless, cheerful escapism
." The movie stars Heinz Rühmann
in the role of the student Hans Pfeiffer, which is remarkable as Rühmann was already 42 years old at that time.
in Potsdam-Babelsberg
. Filming was drawn out by shooting scenes to perfection to save the younger actors from being drafted into the war. Nevertheless, by the time the movie was released, the German army had suffered massive casualties and some of the actors had been killed on the battlefield despite these efforts.
The movie’s release was in question when Bernhard Rust
, secretary of education and former high school teacher, bristled at the way the movie poked fun at teachers. To circumvent a ban by the censorship board, producer Heinz Rühmann
presented the movie to Hermann Göring
at the Führerhauptquartier where it proved to be a success, thus affecting its delayed release on February 28, 1944 in Berlin.
popular in German movies at the end of World War II. In 1942, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels
had called for the production of predominantly entertaining films in Germany to distract the population from the political and moral debacle of the war.
Given its historic context as being produced in Nazi Germany
, the movie is of an ambivalent nature. The charm of the teachers in the movie lies in their old-fashioned attitudes and individual quirks. As representatives of an older, non-fascist generation, they were a nostalgic reminder of a lost past to the wartime generation in Germany. The movie ridicules and at the same time celebrates this lost individuality through parody.
On the other hand, as a state-controlled movie production it also contains latent propaganda
for Nazi ideologies. This is particularly evident in the role of the teacher Dr. Brett, a figure that does not appear in the 1933 edition of the book and the 1934 movie version So ein Flegel
but was added to the 1944 movie as a spokesperson for the "new time" (the fascist regime) who gains the students’ respect. Georg Seeßlen writes in his critique that is neither a "good" nor an "evil" movie, but alas, it is not an innocent one either.
in Berlin who never attended regular school as he was educated at home. His friends' nostalgic recollections of their schooldays convince him that he missed out on something and he decides to go undercover as a gymnasium
student in the fictional small town Babenberg. He introduces himself as Hans Pfeiffer "with three F – one before and two after the and quickly gets into the habit of playing elaborate practical joke
s on his teachers.
parodies of different teaching styles. Professors Bömmel and Crey represent liberal
and democratic
teaching styles respectively, but neither has much luck in gaining the students’ respect. This feat is reserved for teacher Brett who does not appear in the book but was added to the 1944 movie to represent the authoritarian
style popularized at the time. The teachers' exaggerated individual quirks and particularly their dialect
s set them up to be easy targets for imitation and ridicule by the students. Some have acquired nicknames based on their looks. Headmaster Knauer, for example, is known as "Zeus
" among the students, whereas Professor Crey is referred to as "Schnauz" (Moustache
).
and "sinful" women like Marion. She eventually loses Pfeiffer when he falls in love with innocent blonde Eva, Headmaster Knauer’s daughter, who embodies the ideal image of a proper "girl next door
."
status at many German universities. During party-like showings in university auditoriums in early December, students bring props to participate in the movie’s action similar to audience participation in showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
. For example, the audience will ring alarm-clocks whenever an alarm-clock rings in the movie and use flashlights when Hans Pfeiffer uses a pocket mirror to pinpoint the location of the Goths
on a map behind the teacher in order to help a fellow student in history
class. In 2006, more than 10,000 students participated in this tradition in Göttingen
alone.
Die Feuerzangenbowle
Die Feuerzangenbowle is a German book, later adapted into several films, which tells the story of a famous writer going undercover as a pupil at a small town gymnasium after his friends tell him that he missed out on the best part of growing up by being educated at home...
. It follows the book closely as its author, Heinrich Spoerl
Heinrich Spoerl
-Biography:Heinrich Christian Johann Spoerl was born on 8 February 1887 in Düsseldorf where he also grew up. He studied jurisprudence in Marburg, Berlin and Munich and was a solicitor in Düsseldorf from 1919 till 1937. He became a full-time writer in 1937 when he moved to Berlin which he left in...
, also wrote the script for the movie. Both tell the story of a famous writer going undercover as a student at a small town secondary school after his friends tell him that he missed out on the best part of growing up by being educated at home. The story in the book takes place during the time of the Wilhelminian Empire in Germany. The movie was produced and released in Germany during the last years of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and has been called a "masterpiece of timeless, cheerful escapism
Escapism
Escapism is mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation, as an "escape" from the perceived unpleasant or banal aspects of daily life...
." The movie stars Heinz Rühmann
Heinz Rühmann
Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann was a popular German film actor.-Life and work:Rühmann was born in Essen, Westphalia. His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle led him to film stardom. He remained highly popular as a comedic actor throughout the 1930s and early 1940s...
in the role of the student Hans Pfeiffer, which is remarkable as Rühmann was already 42 years old at that time.
Cast
- Heinz RühmannHeinz RühmannHeinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann was a popular German film actor.-Life and work:Rühmann was born in Essen, Westphalia. His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle led him to film stardom. He remained highly popular as a comedic actor throughout the 1930s and early 1940s...
as Dr. Johannes Pfeiffer / Hans Pfeiffer - Karin Himboldt as Eva Knauer
- Hilde Sessak as Marion
- Erich Ponto as Professor Crey
- Paul HenckelsPaul HenckelsPaul Henckels was a German film actor. He appeared in over 230 films between 1921 and 1965.-Selected filmography:* Sex in Chains * Skandal um Eva * Dreyfus * The Sorceror...
as Professor Bömmel - Hans Leibelt as principal Knauer
- Lutz Götz as head teacher Dr Brett
- Hans RichterHans Richter (actor)Hans Richter was a German film actor. He appeared in over 130 films between 1931 and 1984.He was born in Brandenburg, Germany and died in Heppenheim, Germany.-Selected filmography:* The Black Cobra...
as Rosen - Clemens HasseClemens HasseClemens Hasse was a German actor and synchroniser.-Biography:Hasse was born in Königsberg, East Prussia to a public official and attended his stage education at the Preussisches Staatstheater in Berlin...
as Rudi Knebel - Hedwig Wangel as Crey's housekeeper
- Anneliese Würtz as Mrs Windscheidt
- Margarete SchönMargarete SchönMargarete Schön was a German stage and film actress whose career spanned nearly fifty years. She is possibly best recalled internationally for her role as Kriemhild in director Fritz Lang's 1924 series of two silent fantasy films Die Nibelungen - Die Nibelungen: Siegfried and Nibelungen:...
as Mrs Knauer - Max GülstorffMax GülstorffMax Gülstorff was a German actor and stage director.-Biography:Gülstorff was born in Tilsit, East Prussia as Max Walter Gülstorf...
as supervising teacher - Egon Vogel as music teacher Fridolin
- Rudi Schippel as Luck
- Ewald Wenck as janitor Kliemke
- Albert Florath as Old Man
Plot summary
The title refers to the punch consumed by a group of gentlemen in the opening scene. While exchanging nostalgic stories about their schooldays, the successful young writer Dr. Johannes Pfeiffer realizes he missed out on something because he was taught at home and never attended school. He decides to make up for it by masquerading as a student at a small town high school and quickly gains a reputation as a prankster. Together with his classmates, he torments his professors Crey, Bömmel and Headmaster Knauer with adolescent mischief. His girlfriend Marion unsuccessfully tries to persuade him to give up his foolish charade. Eventually, he falls in love with the headmaster’s daughter and discloses his identity after provoking the teachers into expelling him from school.Film production and release
was produced by Ufa StudiosUniversum Film AG
Universum Film AG, better known as UFA or Ufa, is a film company that was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema from 1917 to 1945...
in Potsdam-Babelsberg
Potsdam-Babelsberg
Babelsberg is the largest district of the Brandenburg capital Potsdam in Germany. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as for Studio...
. Filming was drawn out by shooting scenes to perfection to save the younger actors from being drafted into the war. Nevertheless, by the time the movie was released, the German army had suffered massive casualties and some of the actors had been killed on the battlefield despite these efforts.
The movie’s release was in question when Bernhard Rust
Bernhard Rust
Dr. Bernhard Rust was Minister of Science, Education and National Culture in Nazi Germany. A combination of school administrator and zealous Nazi, he issued decrees, often bizarre, at every level of the German educational system to immerse German youth in the National Socialist philosophy...
, secretary of education and former high school teacher, bristled at the way the movie poked fun at teachers. To circumvent a ban by the censorship board, producer Heinz Rühmann
Heinz Rühmann
Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann was a popular German film actor.-Life and work:Rühmann was born in Essen, Westphalia. His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle led him to film stardom. He remained highly popular as a comedic actor throughout the 1930s and early 1940s...
presented the movie to Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
at the Führerhauptquartier where it proved to be a success, thus affecting its delayed release on February 28, 1944 in Berlin.
Historic context and criticism
The transformation of the accomplished writer back to a not-so-innocent schoolboy is an example for the cheerful escapismEscapism
Escapism is mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation, as an "escape" from the perceived unpleasant or banal aspects of daily life...
popular in German movies at the end of World War II. In 1942, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
had called for the production of predominantly entertaining films in Germany to distract the population from the political and moral debacle of the war.
Given its historic context as being produced in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, the movie is of an ambivalent nature. The charm of the teachers in the movie lies in their old-fashioned attitudes and individual quirks. As representatives of an older, non-fascist generation, they were a nostalgic reminder of a lost past to the wartime generation in Germany. The movie ridicules and at the same time celebrates this lost individuality through parody.
On the other hand, as a state-controlled movie production it also contains latent propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
for Nazi ideologies. This is particularly evident in the role of the teacher Dr. Brett, a figure that does not appear in the 1933 edition of the book and the 1934 movie version So ein Flegel
So ein Flegel
So ein Flegel is a German film based on the novel Die Feuerzangenbowle. It modifies the story by introducing the concept of two brothers Pfeiffer switching places: While the younger brother takes over his elder brother’s job, the older brother attends the younger one’s school...
but was added to the 1944 movie as a spokesperson for the "new time" (the fascist regime) who gains the students’ respect. Georg Seeßlen writes in his critique that is neither a "good" nor an "evil" movie, but alas, it is not an innocent one either.
Hans Pfeiffer
Dr. Johannes Pfeiffer is an accomplished playwrightPlaywright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
in Berlin who never attended regular school as he was educated at home. His friends' nostalgic recollections of their schooldays convince him that he missed out on something and he decides to go undercover as a gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
student in the fictional small town Babenberg. He introduces himself as Hans Pfeiffer "with three F – one before and two after the and quickly gets into the habit of playing elaborate practical joke
Practical joke
A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...
s on his teachers.
The teachers
The teachers in the story are stereotypicStereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
parodies of different teaching styles. Professors Bömmel and Crey represent liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
teaching styles respectively, but neither has much luck in gaining the students’ respect. This feat is reserved for teacher Brett who does not appear in the book but was added to the 1944 movie to represent the authoritarian
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
style popularized at the time. The teachers' exaggerated individual quirks and particularly their dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s set them up to be easy targets for imitation and ridicule by the students. Some have acquired nicknames based on their looks. Headmaster Knauer, for example, is known as "Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
" among the students, whereas Professor Crey is referred to as "Schnauz" (Moustache
Moustache
A moustache is facial hair grown on the outer surface of the upper lip. It may or may not be accompanied by a type of beard, a facial hair style grown and cropped to cover most of the lower half of the face.-Etymology:...
).
The women
Two women play central roles in the story and Pfeiffer’s life. Pfeiffer’s lover Marion is a modern and self-assured "big city girl." She travels to Babenberg to try to convince Pfeiffer of the foolishness of his actions and bring him back to Berlin. Pfeiffer declines and she threatens to blow his cover. This makes her the "bad girl" of the story in accordance with the ideologies of the times reproving emancipatedEmancipation
Emancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:* Emancipation , a champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse foaled in 1979...
and "sinful" women like Marion. She eventually loses Pfeiffer when he falls in love with innocent blonde Eva, Headmaster Knauer’s daughter, who embodies the ideal image of a proper "girl next door
Girl next door
The cultural and sexual stereotype of the girl next door or the All-American girl is invoked in American contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming femininity, as opposed to the culture's other female stereotypes such as the tomboy, the valley girl, the femme fatale, girly girl, or the slut. The...
."
Cult film status
Since the 1980s, the movie has gained cult filmCult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
status at many German universities. During party-like showings in university auditoriums in early December, students bring props to participate in the movie’s action similar to audience participation in showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
. For example, the audience will ring alarm-clocks whenever an alarm-clock rings in the movie and use flashlights when Hans Pfeiffer uses a pocket mirror to pinpoint the location of the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
on a map behind the teacher in order to help a fellow student in history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
class. In 2006, more than 10,000 students participated in this tradition in Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
alone.