... and if it were just one ...
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | ... and if it were just one ... |
| Country of production | Germany ( SBZ ) |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1949 |
| length | 84 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Wolfgang Schleif |
| script | Wolfgang Schleif Wolfgang Weyrauch |
| production | DEFA |
| music | Wolfgang Zeller |
| camera | EW Fiedler |
| cut | Hermann Ludwig |
| occupation | |
| |
... and if it were just one ... is a German youth film by DEFA by Wolfgang Schleif from 1949 .
action
The boy Karli calls his mother and tells her that he will not come home. He stole a car with a friend and is racing through Berlin until the police can stop the car and arrest Karli. The juvenile criminal chamber transfers him to an education camp. Fritz, who is caught repeatedly stealing food, and the orphan Hansi, who ambushed a woman and wounded her with a knife in order to steal some bread, also land here. All three meet in the Waldsee education camp, which is run by the young Jochen Denecke. He was once considered a “neglect” himself, but got his life under control and started to study medicine. He runs the camp in self-administration, with democratic votes and clear rules, but also sufficient freedom for each individual. His counterpart is the older Fraulein Müller, who beats up the boys rather than getting involved with them.
In a bar, Jochen hears the actress Bettina singing a chanson about the neglected youth and is outraged about it. He asks her to have a look at such a youth on site and Bettina actually appears a little later in the camp. Her reservations about the young people quickly disappear and she is now planning, with the support of Jochen, to bring the children closer to the world of theater. However, things are seething beneath the healed surface of camp life. During his exit, the young person Horst Pacholke steals American cigarettes from a man who officially cannot be traded. He exchanges them for bread for the camp, but the other children reprimand him. He confides in Jochen, who until then was proud that no crimes had been committed since the self-government. But Bettina also sees the positive aspect: Horst is aware of his guilt. A little later, the children find out that the manager of the Tschunke grocery store is secretly selling parts of the camp's food ration to people in the village. Tschunke is removed by vote and Fritz is replaced by the new grocery store manager.
A little later the boys see their comrade Walter stealing the notebook with grocery stamps from an old woman in the market. They ambush him in the dormitory at night and chastise him. They secretly return the stamps, but Jochen sees the welts on Walter's back during a medical examination. The boys tell him why. The boys' vigilante justice has serious consequences: Jochen is deposed as an unskilled pedagogue and is initially supposed to study pedagogy for a few years. His successor is Albert Osterheld, who introduces military drill in the camp. He has barbed wire fences erected, creates a watchdog in the camp, lets the children do hard work and punishes violators with arrest and food deprivation. When Bettina comes to the camp, Albert turns her away, as her work is currently not necessary. Fritz manages to secretly go to Bettina and tell her about the conditions in the camp. Some children are planning to flee, all of them want Jochen back. Bettina promises to look for Jochen.
In the camp, Horst Pacholke discovers that Osterheld can hardly move a hand and that he even needs someone else's help to put on his boots. He is shaken, but keeps his discovery to himself. Meanwhile, some boys plan to actively help each other. Michael escapes from the camp, is turned away by his mother at home and goes to Bettina. In the meantime she has found Jochen, who has given up. He wants to continue studying medicine, but Bettina convinces him not to leave the boys alone. He then becomes head of the Römerberg camp for criminal children and young people. The warehouse is in a different sector in Berlin. Michael and Bettina draw up a plan for how the children from the Waldsee camp can get to the Römerberg camp. They want to flee across the sector border, where a policeman friend is supposed to arrest them and bring them to Jochen's camp. Bettina manages to convince the policeman of her plan. The joint escape of the children is to take place on the occasion of a summer party, to which Bettina is also invited. However, some children play wrongly and report to Osterheld that the teenagers are planning something. Bettina is not let out of sight by Miss Müller during the festival and yet the first children manage to escape. However, many of the originally enthusiastic children decided against fleeing for fear of Easter hero's draconian punishments. When Michael tries to persuade the children and names Bettina as the organizer of the escape, he is overheard by Osterheld. Both are summoned to an interrogation at which the high school board is also present. Michael accuses Osterheld of having turned the camp into a concentration camp, but nobody will prevent him from escaping. Bettina tries to defend herself and her actions. Suddenly Horst Pacholke appears and accuses Osterheld of actually being the former Obersturmführer Österried. He shot his friend Kurt in April 1945 when he did not act according to his instructions. Even then he had the arm injury, he himself, Horst, was present at the time of the shooting.
Easter hero asks to be relieved of his post. The high school board recognizes that it was a mistake to transfer Jochen. He asks Bettina for Jochen's address so that he can apologize to him. In the meantime, five children have managed to escape to the waiting police car, which finally leaves. The five boys arrive at the Römerberg camp, where they are happily welcomed by the children and Jochen. When asked that only five children came along, Jochen replies "... and if it were only one ...".
production
... and if it's only one would be "... based on the historical novel Neglected by Sia Scazziga . The film was shot in 1948 in the Berlin-Johannisthal studio and in Schmöckwitz , with some of the child actors actually belonging to youth gangs. The costumes were created by Hans Kieselbach , the production design is by Wilhelm Depenau and Kurt Herlth . ... and if it were just one ... premiered on March 18, 1949 in the Babylon cinema in Berlin .
criticism
Frank-Burkhard Habel named ... and if it were just one ... a visually interesting film, which is dramaturgically weak, but reflects the post-war atmosphere very authentically.
"A thematically important DEFA film, which also deals artistically quite acceptably with current youth problems at the time," said the film service .
Awards
Ernst Wilhelm Fiedler received the National Prize III in 1951 for ... and if it were only one . Great for camera.
literature
- ... and if it's only one would be '... . In: F.-B. Habel: The great lexicon of DEFA feature films . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89602-349-7 , pp. 639-640.
Web links
- ... and if it's only one would '... in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ... and if it were just one ... at filmportal.de
- ... and if it were just one ... at the DEFA Foundation
Individual evidence
- ↑ Page on Sia Scazziga with illus. Of the script at the German Dance Archive Cologne , download April 26, 2020
- ^ Alfred Bauer: German feature film Almanach. Volume 2: 1946-1955 , p. 83
- ↑ a b … and if it were only one… . In: F.-B. Habel: The great lexicon of DEFA feature films . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2000, p. 640.
- ↑ ... and if it were only one ... In: Lexicon of international film . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ See defa.de