Old Heidelberg (1927)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Old Heidelberg |
| Original title | The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1927 |
| length | 105 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Ernst Lubitsch |
| script | Hanns Kraly |
| production | Ernst Lubitsch for MGM |
| music |
William Ax , David Mendoza |
| camera | John J. Mescall |
| cut | Andrew Marton |
| occupation | |
| |
Alt-Heidelberg (OT: The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg ) is an American silent film by Ernst Lubitsch with music from the year 1927. The leading roles are starred by Ramón Novarro and Norma Shearer . Jean Hersholt plays a leading role as Friedrich Jüttner's private teacher. It is a film adaptation of the operetta The Student Prince by Sigmund Romberg , whose plot in turn is based on the German play Alt-Heidelberg by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster .
action
In the Kingdom of Karlsburg, Karl Heinrich, the nephew of King Charles VII, became Crown Prince around 1890. As a boy he was brought to the court of his strict uncle, King Karl. He grows up isolated from his peers, his beloved nanny is sent away. Only his private tutor Dr. Friedrich Jüttner creates the necessary balance for him and also arranges pranks for him. When he passed his oral school leaving examination on April 25, 1901 in Karlsburg, the heir to the throne did not have much of a clue, but his teacher secretly gave him advice on the correct answer. So he passes the test "with distinction".
Karl Heinrich was sent to Heidelberg to study. His teacher Dr. Jüttner should accompany him. He found accommodation in "Rüders Gasthof", which, although not befitting, can bring the Crown Prince together with the common people. Karl Heinrich is enthusiastic. At first he just watches a student drinking binge in the evening with fascination. He is later accepted as a new member of the “ Corps Saxonia ” and reveals his identity. Dr. Jüttner also embarks on Karl Heinrich's adventure. The Crown Prince falls in love with Kathi, who helps out as a waitress in “Rüders Gasthof”, and begins a romance with her. Dr. Jüttner receives news that Princess Ilse von Altenberg has been chosen as Karl Heinrich's wife, which he should tell the heir to the throne. However, given the lightheartedness of the prince in love with Kathi, he refrains from doing this.
Prime Minister von Haugk comes to Heidelberg personally to bring Karl Heinrich back to run the business of government because the king is seriously ill. In the hope of the king's speedy recovery, which would mean Karl Heinrich's return to Heidelberg, Dr. Jüttner the prince to leave after only one year of studies. On his uncle's deathbed, Karl Heinrich learns that he is about to be married to Princess Ilse and is shocked. A short time later he was proclaimed the new king. When Karl Heinrich's old teacher Jüttner died in distant Heidelberg, he was filled with great sadness.
Through Johann Kellermann's visitor from Heidelberg, the young king learns that Kathi is still waiting for him. Karl Heinrich returns to Heidelberg for one day, but everything has changed: The representatives of the Corps Saxonia who have come to greet him behave formally towards him, in accordance with his position as king. You treat him politely and with the necessary distance, the former exuberance has disappeared. It is quite different when Kathi falls into his arms. With a kiss, Karl Heinrich and Kathi say goodbye forever. Karl Heinrich knows that he cannot turn back time and that he is bound by conventions. He marries according to his status; Sadly, he sits next to his bride in the wedding car, while a cheering spectator notices that it must be nice to be king.
Background, other films
According to the origin of the play, MGM hired the German director Ernst Lubitsch, who mainly specialized in comedies. Previously, Erich von Stroheim had also been in discussion for the director. At over 1.2 million US dollars, the film budget was very high, also because Lubitsch attached great importance to the authenticity of the locations and costumes. A film team even drove to Europe specifically for recordings, none of which were used in the finished film. The German film actor André Mattoni took on a small role in this film during a stay in Hollywood.
The successful theater play Alt Heidelberg was filmed a total of five times, this is the third adaptation. The first film adaptation was made in Hollywood in 1915, directed by John Emerson with Wallace Reid and Dorothy Gish in the leading roles. In 1923, the film Alt-Heidelberg was shot in Germany under the direction of Hans Behrendt . 1954 MGM filmed the story again under the direction of Richard Thorpe ; however, this remake is usually rated worse by the film critics than this one. In 1959 the last film adaptation of the material was made in Germany under the direction of Ernst Marischka .
Reviews
The film is considered to be one of Lubitsch's best silent films, although it is rated even higher by today's film critics than by those of that time. In his review of September 22, 1927, Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times praised Lubitsch, who would convince with his penchant for satire and details. Hall judged the performances of Ramon Navarro and Norma Shearer rather cautiously, in particular Shearer would not put her soul into the role, while Navarro would look a little too southern for the role. The supporting actors, especially Jean Hersholt and Gustav von Seyffyertitz, were expressly praised by Hall.
The American film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film the highest rating and wrote: "This is Lubitsch at its peak, a great joy from start to finish, and really the charming kind of film that is simply no longer made today".
The Lexicon of International Films found it to be a "funny and ironic description of the situation in Germany at the turn of the century."
In a recent review, Allmovie wrote that it was a “heavenly sappy, delightfully artistic recitation” of the operetta by Franz Lehár , although the silent film could not contain the songs of the operetta. Ernst Lubitsch's genius would show itself in the fact that the 1927 version was considerably more modern and lively than the more recent 1954 film adaptation. The film could also convince visually.
John Fawell, Professor at Boston University , published the book Ernst Lubitsch's the Student Prince in Old Heidelberg: The Art of Classical Hollywood about the film in 2018 . He described the film as having been neglected so far and advocates placing it among Lubitsch's best films. "The beauty of youth, their generosity and simple camaraderie, their natural conformity to live, their transience", the "consolation through eating and drinking" as well as the feeling of young love that has been there through all ages are central themes of the film. The film has a “dizzying number of ideas” and is a “multifaceted narrative” of what Lubitsch sees as “life at its best, most dramatic, most touching, painful or ironic moments,” says Fawell.
literature
- Robert K. Klepper: Silent Films, 1877-1996. A Critical Guide to 646 Movies. McFarland, Jefferson NC et al. 1999, ISBN 0-7864-0595-3 .
- John W. Fawell: Ernst Lubitsch's the Student Prince in Old Heidelberg: The Art of Classical Hollywood. Lexington Books, 2018, ISBN 978-1498578042 .
Web links
- Alt-Heidelberg in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Footnotes
- ↑ in the original: with highest honors
- ↑ Mordaunt Hall: The Screen Review in The New York Times , September 22, 1927 (English). Retrieved July 2, 2017.
- ↑ Leonard Maltin: The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg Review adS TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English)
- ↑ Old Heidelberg. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed July 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Old Heidelberg at Allmovie
- ↑ Why the Neglect ?: Lubitsch's The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927). In: Film International. Retrieved December 19, 2019 (American English).