Dakapo (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Dakapo |
| Original title | Encore |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1951 |
| length | 86 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Pat Jackson Anthony Pelissier Harold French |
| script |
TEB Clarke Arthur Macrae Eric Ambler |
| production | Antony Darnborough |
| music | Richard Addinsell |
| camera | Desmond Dickinson |
| cut | Alfred Roome |
| occupation | |
|
The ant and the grasshopper
Winter cruise
Gigolo and Gigolette
| |
Dakapo is a three-part British episode film based on short stories by W. Somerset Maugham . Directed by Pat Jackson (first episode), Anthony Pelissier (second episode) and Harold French , a cast led by Nigel Patrick , Roland Culver , Kay Walsh , Noel Purcell , Glynis Johns and Terence Morgan .
action
The author W. Somerset Maugham presents each of the three episodes himself from his villa on the Côte d'Azur .
The Ant and the Grasshopper (Original: The Ant and the Grasshopper )
The idler Tom Ramsay, type of charming “greyhound”, regularly borrows money from his much older brother George, who is the exact opposite of Tom in his hard work and a basic decency. Tom is very fickle and hardly gets beyond the job. When he works as the bouncer at the club where George goes in and out, he is uncomfortably touched and gives his brother with the lax life and work ethic again money. In the following jobs as a bartender and window cleaner, too, much to George's discomfort, the paths of the two dissimilar brothers cross. One day, George Chartfield puts the family-owned Ramsay estate up for sale in order to be able to cash out his business partner. Tom is outraged and protests loudly. Shortly thereafter, George is approached by luxury car dealer Philip Cronshaw. He tells him that Tom has stolen one of his vehicles to sell to another dealership. George can hardly believe this. But to avoid a public scandal that is unpleasant for everyone involved, George pays the equivalent of the car to Mr. Cronshaw. The hard-working “ant” George has no idea that the “grasshopper” Tom and the trader, who jump through life across the country, are in cahoots and share the money George paid as “partners in crime” among themselves.
While Tom does what he always does, namely tossing other people's money senselessly, one day while staying with Cronshaw at a seaside resort, he discovers that a certain Gertrude Wilmot has stayed at the same seaside resort. She is said to be the third richest woman in the world. The windy one of the two Ramsay brothers is currently looking for their proximity. In a fit of honesty, he explains to the attractive lady, who frankly admits that she is fed up with being hounded on by money-hungry crooks and liars, that he himself is just a crook and crook, who is magically attracted by her great wealth. Surprisingly, he succeeds with this scam, and the two become engaged. When George and his wife Freda read about it in the newspaper, they can hardly believe it and are stunned. Tom is now finally able to repay all the money he owes his brother George after all these years of scrounging. When George complains about the injustice of Tom not having to work for happiness, Tom mentions that his new fiancée Gertrude intends to buy the family property that George is planning to sell to raise funds. Gertrude, according to the charmer Tom, has always wanted to live poorly in the country.
Winter cruise (Original: Winter Cruise )
The lonely English tea shop owner Molly Reid is taking another cruise to Jamaica, like every winter. To the annoyance of the other passengers and the crew, she chatted without interruption on the outward journey. At first one is still amused by the communicative maiden, but as the sea voyage increases, she increasingly gets on everyone's minds. When the captain learns that she intends to go home on the same ship, he decides that something must be done to protect the health and nerves of the crew. The ship's doctor suggests organizing a suitor for her. Pale in horror, all of the officers in question refuse with the (pretended) reason that they are married. And so the pretty French ship steward Pierre is given this ungrateful task and is supposed to hog Molly around the clock on the journey home over Christmas.
The plan works: Pierre sends her a piece of paper that says he is madly in love with her. The crew's ears are spared, even though Molly confesses to Pierre that she knows he's not in love with her and should just keep her in check. On Christmas morning, every ship officer will find a present in front of his cabin door as a small gift. One is touched and realizes that behind their talkativeness there is a very amiable being. When Molly leaves the ship in England, she thanks the captain personally and tells him and the crew that she knew all along that their "romance" had been arranged. The captain and officers are touched and ashamed of their selfish charade and sincerely wish Molly all the best. Molly is welcomed ashore by her friend Nora Price and promises the Frenchman Pierre to rename her tea shop, which was previously called “Molly's Parlor” (Molly's Salon), to “Chez Molly” (At Molly's).
Gigolo and Gigolette (Original: Gigolo and Gigolette )
Stella and Syd Cotman are two British variety artists who have performed with great success in an outdoor nightclub in Monte Carlo belonging to the Ritz Hotel. It jumps down from a height of almost 25 meters and then plunges into a small, only one and a half meter wide and deep water tank that was ignited on the surface. A visit from Flora and Carlo Penezzi unsettles the two artists. The older Penezzi once performed a similarly dangerous act, except that Flora was shot from a cannon. The “human cannonball” Flora confesses to Stella en passant that she was always very afraid during this act and that only her love for Carlo helped her to overcome this fear. Now Stella is completely insecure. There is an argument between her and Syd when she refuses to do the dangerous stunt twice every evening from now on. If he loved her the way Carlo loves Flora, he wouldn't ask her, Stella replies to her husband. But he says that neither of them have enough money to get out of everything.
Stella's refusal to jump on a night show forces Syd to change both of their contracts with the nightclub manager. As a result, the two of them run out of money and Stella pulls together her savings to try her luck at gambling. She hopes that she will never again have to jump into a water tank from lofty heights. But everything goes wrong and Stella loses both savings. Syd is pissed off. Now she is forced to continue the unloved stunt, even though she has an inkling that this might one day be her death. Stella confesses to Flora her fear of death, but also that she will continue to jump so as not to disappoint her audience. Alarmed by this statement, Flora and Carlo go to Syd and tell him how scared his wife is now. He can hardly believe this and hurries up the stairs to the tower to keep Stella from jumping. But she realizes his concern, and when she realizes his smile suggesting safety, she falls safely down into the tank.
Production notes
Dakapo was made at Pinewood Studios at Iver Heath and premiered on November 14, 1951. The German premiere took place on television on January 13, 1966 on ARD .
Earl St. John was the line producer. Maurice Carter designed the film structures, Robert Asher was assistant director. Julie Harris designed the costumes. Muir Mathieson was musical director.
This film was the last work in the context of producer Darnborough's episode film trilogy based on Maugham's short story templates. Dakapo was preceded by the four-part quartet in 1948 and the three-part So ist das Leben in 1950 . All three film anthologies turned out to be very successful at the box office.
Dakapo was a British festival entry at the 1952 Cannes International Film Festival and was nominated for the Grand Prix.
Reviews
“Without questioning the sincerity of Mr. Maugham or the likely popularity of this latest of his Portmanteau films, it would be observed by this author that he or his producers - or both - are relying entirely on the momentum of their past success. While the stories shown in this film are smart and entertaining, touched by a shrewd, ironic whim, and extremely skillfully played, they are obviously superficial, beyond the everyday fate of Mr. Maugham and, at least in the case of one of them, completely commonplace. The best episode is a vignette with the title "Winter Cruise". "
"Some of the old master's stylistic tricks become a little predictable for viewers with precise memories, but the end result is still civilized adult entertainment."
The Lexicon of International Films says: “Three independent literary and cinematic miniatures based on stories by Somerset Maugham, all of which are captivating with their subtle psychology despite their different design. (...) Cultivated entertainment, interestingly varied and excellently played. "
"Entertaining trilogy."
"TV dramolets quickly made this kind of short story look old-fashioned, but the standard here was high."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dakapo. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2020 .
Web links
- Dakapo in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Encore in Turner Classic Movies
- complete film review in the New York Times