Ave Maria (1953)

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Movie
Original title Ave Maria
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1953
length 90 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Alfred Braun
script Wolf Neumeister ,
Hans Wendel
production Ilse Kubaschewski
for Divina-Film
music Franz Grothe
camera Werner Krien
cut Erwin Marno
occupation

Ave Maria is a German melodrama directed by Alfred Braun from 1953 .

action

The famous concert singer Karin Twerdy returns to her daughter Daniela after years of absence. As a child she had given it to a convent school , where Daniela has since become a young woman. By singing the song Ave Maria in the church, Karin not only draws Daniela's attention to herself, but also that of the rich industrialist Dietrich Gontard. His son Thomas and Daniela are a couple and Dietrich in turn could imagine a relationship with Karin. What he does not know is that Karin has not been going on concert tours for a long time, but instead earns her living as a singer in her own nightclub in Hamburg under the name Marita Talland . Now she wants to sell the restaurant to start her life again.

She breaks off her vacation with Dietrich and goes to Hamburg to arrange the sale. The buyer, however, holds her out and so, contrary to her resolutions, she appears again in person one evening to fill the place up and get the buyer to make a quicker purchase. By chance Dietrich visits the restaurant and sees her as a seductress on stage. Horrified, he confronts Karin the next day and tells her that a relationship between Daniela and Thomas would only come into question if Karin's secret was never made public - she should disappear from the daughter's life. Karin accepts her fate, says goodbye to her faithful confidante Conny and leaves.

On the train to Finland , a woman from Karin's compartment commits suicide and Karin adopts her identity. In Finland she works as a housekeeper under the name Lisa Nilsson, while Daniela and Dietrich believe that she committed suicide on the train. When Conny dies in an accident, he sued Dietrich shortly before his death. With his request to disappear from Daniela's life, he contributed to Karin's death. Dietrich reproaches himself and is now following in Karin's footsteps. He comes to the house where Karin works as a cleaning lady, believing that he can learn more about Karin's last train journey from "Lisa Nilsson". When he recognizes Lisa as Karin, he begs her to come back to them, especially since Daniela, who has meanwhile married Thomas, is expecting a child. Karin agrees. For the baptism of her grandchild, she, united with her family, sings the Ave Maria again in the church .

production

The film was directed by the production company KG Divina GmbH & Co. produced. The company belonged to Ilse Kubaschewski , who was also the owner of the first distributor Gloria-Film GmbH & Co. Filmverleih KG . Ave Maria was filmed on Lake Starnberg , in the Port of Hamburg and in Finland until May 1953 . The studio of Bavaria Film in Geiselgasteig and the studio Hamburg-Bendestorf served as studios . The first performance took place on September 8, 1953 in Wattenscheid .

Although Zarah Leander made other films after Ave Maria , this film is generally regarded as the end of Leander's actual film career and a “typical Leander melodrama”. In the film she sings the hits I know Jimmy from Havana , When the wild roses bloom , Don't wait for great love and the Ave Maria .

Reviews

The film week noted that Zarah Leander played her role "with tearful, sometimes shaken dramatic glow".

Der Spiegel wrote only briefly: “As the title [Ave Maria] suggested, the worst of the new season. In the main role: Zarah Leander. "

The film-dienst praised the fact that the film was well photographed, but criticized that it “takes the improbable for granted and instead of credible motivations thinks up emotionally softened moods and external effects, in which crucifixes and images of the Madonna contrast with images that are now sultry and now melancholy become. These embarrassments are supported by a flat dialogue and mediocre acting. - A German film for women who would rather cry with them than think along. "

The lexicon of international films described Ave Maria as a "trivial melodrama" and the "rather tasteless attempt to help Zarah Leander make a film comeback in an old Ufa-style star production after the war."

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Paul Seiler: Zarah Leaner. "I am a voice" . Ullstein, Berlin 1997, p. 106.
  2. ^ Film Week , September 26, 1953.
  3. ↑ New in Germany: Ave Maria . In: Der Spiegel , No. 39, 1953, p. 32.
  4. ^ KB .: Ave Maria . In: Filmdienst , No. 35, 1953.
  5. ↑ Klaus Brüne (Ed.): Lexicon of International Films . Volume 1. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1990, p. 245.