From a man's girlhood
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | From a man's girlhood |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1913 |
| length | 15, 21 or 26 minutes |
| Rod | |
| production | Oskar Messter |
| occupation | |
| |
From a man's girlhood is a short, German silent film comedy from 1913 with Wilhelm Bendow in the title role. The film is a very early example of travesty on screen.
action
A young man is applying for a job in a middle-class household. But since a maid is wanted, he disguises himself accordingly as a woman. From an erotic point of view, things are going on in the house: the head of the family, Mr. Kommerzienrat, is a real philanderer, and the house servant takes a special liking to the newly hired maid, who seems to have a bitter masculine trait. The new "maid" has meanwhile already cast an eye on a young colleague.
At the end the servants celebrate a feast in the rooms of the absent rulers. Here each of the employees tries to help their erotic dreams come true, but in the end nobody gets what he (or she) longs for.
Production notes and background
A man's girlhood was probably made in 1912. The two-act film was censored in June 1913, was banned from young people and was probably released that same year. Trade journals such as Der Kinematograph were devoted to the (depending on the source) 15 to 26-minute short film fun game.
The stage comedian Wilhelm Bendow probably appeared in front of the camera for the first time. Who directed it is unknown. The occasional statement that Siegfried Dessauer , who can be seen here in a small role, also directed, is unlikely, since all serious sources date Dessauer's beginnings as a film director in 1914.
The production costs amounted to 380 marks (2,063 euros).
Similar to another production from the early days of German silent films, Der Sieg des Hosenrocks , this film also plays with role stereotypes and gender roles.
criticism
Heidi Schlüpmann writes: “The pleasure of the audience does not, however, merge into primitive glee, coupled with crude sexual fantasies. Rather, the narrator in the film, the male protagonist, establishes communication with the audience right from the start, making the audience an accomplice in their gaze under the covers of social order. FROM A MAN'S GIRL'S TIME is the only known example from the prewar period in which a relationship between cinema and the homosexual scene becomes clear. "
Thomas Brandlmeier writes: “A definite sensation within the Messter production is AUS EINES MANNES GÄDCHENZEIT (1912), probably the earliest film with the great Wilhelm Bendow. Bendow, under the pretext of getting a job as a maid, delivers a completely un-German travesty. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ From a man's girl time in stummfilm.at ( Memento of the original from November 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Thomas Brandlmeier: Early German film comedy 1895-1917
