Love hangs on the gallows

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Movie
Original title Love hangs on the gallows
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1960
length 93 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Edwin Zbonek
script Erna Fentsch
production Ernest Müller
music Ernst Roters
camera Walter Partsch
cut Eleonore Kunze
occupation

Love Hangs on the Gallows is a German film drama by Edwin Zbonek with Carl Wery and Annie Rosar in the leading roles. The literary model was provided by Leopold Ahlsen with the play “Philemon und Baucis”.

action

1944 in Greece. The German Wehrmacht occupies the country and controls it with an iron hand. Greek partisans , who, in view of the dramatically deteriorating military situation for Germany, smell the morning breeze, engage in relentlessly tough battles with the occupying forces. In the midst of the heavy skirmishes, the old married couple Nikolaos and Marulja, who live in a somewhat remote house on the outskirts of the city, have already lost their son in absurd national hatred and who have widowed beautiful Alka at an early age after just one day as a wife. Soon the two old people are sitting between all the stools, since the only maxim that is accepted is humanity towards friend and foe. Out of deep conviction, they oppose senseless killing and hatred of nations and show deep humanity within the framework of an equally life-affirming and life-threatening initiative.

They give shelter to every needy person, whether injured or frightened, and do not distinguish between friend and foe. Everyone who knocks on Nikolaos' door and needs help is very much welcome to him, who exudes an almost archaic, mocking calm and serenity. His wife Marulja is an opposite pole: she rumbles and grumbles incessantly, especially about the "bangs" outside the front door. His and Marulja's deeply felt faith also means that the right of hospitality must be applied as the highest commandment towards everyone, although the old people themselves only have the bare essentials for life. They have already helped persecuted Greek partisans, and now they are faced with a new situation: when two deserting German soldiers - one of them, the younger, seriously injured by a shot in the stomach - seek protection and shelter, the Greek partisan leader Petros, who shortly before that he found shelter with Nikolaos and Marulja himself for a few days because he was being hunted by the Germans and noticed them. Petros does everything in his power to track down his German opponents.

Meanwhile, Alka is continuing the humanism of her in-laws. She tries to persuade her lover Alexandros, with whom she is expecting a child, to give up the partisan struggle and leave the country with her. When the latter falls into the hands of the Germans, it is she again who passionately begs for the life of her friend when he is also about to be executed in the context of hostage shootings. After the hostage shootings, Petros finally wants to settle accounts with his former lifeguards, old Nikolaos is to be held accountable for his alleged "betrayal". The old man should pay with his life for his humanity and hang . Since Marulja does not want to go on living without her husband, she has only one last wish: She wants to go to death with him and go to the gallows by his side and share his fate with him.

Production notes

Zbonek's directorial debut Am Galgen hangs die Liebe was created in the middle of 1960 in Burgenland and was premiered on October 21, 1960 in Cologne's Capitol Cinema. The German television first broadcast took place on August 23, 1969 on ZDF.

Sieghardt Rupp received his first major film role here with the merciless Greek partisan leader Petros.

Wolf Witzemann designed the film structures, August Rieger was involved in the production management.

Reviews

While the film received great recognition and film prizes abroad, the local film evaluation office and the critics at the premiere found little good in the film (for more on this, see “Things to know”). The Austrian Film Rating Commission, on the other hand, praised the film as a “masterful hit” and awarded it the highest award, which had not been successful in Germany: “particularly valuable”.

The newspaper "Arriba", published in Madrid, praised: "A great, deep and humane film."

ABC , also from Spain, rated Am Galgen love as “by far the best film of the week”.

The lexicon of international films found that love hangs on the gallows is "a remarkable film that is not afraid to address difficult questions of conscience in addition to depicting active humanity."

The film's large personal lexicon stated in Carl Wery's biography (Volume 8) that he had played the “most demanding and intensive role” of his entire film career in that film.

useful information

The Federal German Filmbewertungsstelle Wiesbaden (FBW) refused to give the film a quality rating of “valuable” or “particularly valuable”. It was criticized that love hangs on the gallows in view of the dramatic content, the direction as well as the acting were inappropriate. Literally it said: “Under the pressure of a script full of wrong notes, the direction and style of presentation have turned out to be inadequate for the hard material.” The devastating overall judgment decreed: “The film style is Anzengruber.” This lack of quality led to the film being replaced by the usual 1300 had only got 360 cinemas in the Federal Republic of Germany for showing and therefore love hangs on the gallows had to be a spectacular box office flop.

Awards

  • Director Edwin Zbonek received the "Golden Ear" for his directorial work in 1961 at the International Film Festival in Valladolid, Spain.
  • Another award was the VI Grand Prix. International Religious Film Week.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Love hangs on the gallows. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed January 1, 2018 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ standards sought in: Der Spiegel , 19/1961

Web links