The glass of water (1960)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The glass of water |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1960 |
| length | 83 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Helmut Käutner |
| script | Helmut Käutner Willibald Eser |
| production | German Film Hansa ( Georg Richter ) |
| music |
Bernhard Eichhorn Roland Sonder-Mahnken |
| camera | Günther Anders |
| cut | Klaus Dudenhöfer |
| occupation | |
| |
The Glass of Water is a feature film from 1960 in the form of a theater singspiel. Directed by Helmut Käutner , an imposing cast of stars led by Gustaf Gründgens , Liselotte Pulver and Hilde Krahl . The film, the central element of which is the artificial and highly stylized decorations, was presented to the public for the first time on June 5, 1960 at the Berlin International Film Festival . The production is based on the play of the same name by the French playwright Eugène Scribe .
action
The film is set in London in 1710 during the War of the Spanish Succession . The still young and inexperienced Queen Anne of England is a weak regent who likes to be influenced by Lady Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough . With her intrigues, the Duchess aims to show her husband, the bellicose Marshal of Marlborough, in a better light. But there is also Henry St. John , a noble journalist and leader of the opposition, who is trying by all means to end the war with France as soon as possible. That is why he also tries to influence the queen in his own way.
Lady Churchill is not averse to gallant adventures. That is why she sponsors the young country nobleman Arthur Masham and promotes him unceremoniously to Ensign of the Guard. But Henry St. John sees through the plan. He knows that Masham is engaged to Abigail, the jealous saleswoman in a jewelry store. He now wants to use this for his own purposes.
Masham duels with a very rich cousin of Henry, and only he survives the duel. In this way, Henry inherits a considerable fortune and can henceforth call himself " Lord Bolingbroke". In the contest of intrigues, the next round goes to the new lord when he succeeds in getting Abigail a position with the queen. Henry gained more and more influence at court. Through Abigail he learns that the queen has also cast an eye on Masham without him noticing anything. As a sign of a planned rendezvous, she wants to request a glass of water from Masham at a party. On this occasion, Henry explains to the Duchess that she has a rival. However, he does not reveal their names. But when the Duchess finds out at the Queen's next party who is disputing her favor with the ensign, she loses her composure, which means that she has to resign from her advisory office.
But once again the tide seems to turn in the Duchess's favor when she and a couple of ladies-in-waiting surprise the queen at a nightly meeting with Masham. Henry was just waiting for that. He is there immediately and saves the queen with a white lie. From now on he is their sole advisor. The Duchess's resignation is sealed. Her warlike husband is released. Henry is now heading a new cabinet as Prime Minister . His first task will be to start peace negotiations with France.
Production notes
The glass of water was created between February 25 and March 30, 1960 in Eastmancolor, exclusively in the Real Film Studios in Hamburg-Wandsbek . The mass start of the film took place on July 6, 1960 with the official premiere in Berlin's Zoo Palast . On May 1, 1964, Das Glas Wasser was also shown in GDR cinemas. The German television first broadcast took place on March 28, 1970 on ZDF .
The stylized film decorations come from the hands of Herbert Kirchhoff and Albrecht Becker . Käutner's wife Erica Balqué assisted her husband with the direction. Willibald Eser helped Käutner with the creation of the script. Werner Schlagge was a sound engineer.
For Gustaf Gründgens, this film role meant returning to the camera after 19 years of abstinence from the screen.
Gustaf Gründgens, Liselotte Pulver, Hilde Krahl and the 18-year-old Sabine Sinjen took care of the vocal parts. The three actresses in particular hardly appeared as singers in their other films. The texts for the couplets were provided by Helmut Käutner.
Producer Georg Richter was also in charge of production, Georg Mohr was in charge of production.
music
The music plays a big role in the film. It was composed by Bernhard Eichhorn and Roland Sonder-Mahnken , the arrangement is by Bert Kaempfert . With the director as the copywriter, the authors built some songs into the film - which is not the case with Scrib's original - so that the film sometimes looks almost like a musical. The beginnings of the most important are:
Chanson Sir Henry
I gladly took advantage of this controversy
And the principle of opportunity makes verse
The moment for an extempore .
No contradiction? Merci,
Mesdames, Messieurs ...
aria and song about Arthur (Abigail with ballet)
So many others are there who can love them,
why does it have to be Arthur of all people?
Why do I want to be separated from my Arthur?
Why don't you want to treat my Arthur to me?
Can't the others think of any other?
Elegie Royale (Queen Anna)
My people press their noses flat
on every illustrated sheet
:
The Queen in green, in white, in blue
, sometimes a state reception, sometimes a troop show.
Awards
- the Wiesbaden film evaluation agency awarded the work the title “Particularly valuable”.
- Hilde Krahl, Günther Anders and the two film architects Albrecht Becker and Herbert Kirchhoff were awarded the gold film ribbon in 1961. Another nomination went to Rudolf Forster in the category “best supporting actor”.
- the German Film Critics' Prize was awarded to the categories “best representation” and “best color film camera”.
Reviews
“Käutner has already arranged Scribe's comedy for the stage…; on the canvas he went a happy step further, primarily in terms of stylization. The decorations are perky and ironic. Käutner is intentionally filmed theater, but he does it so lightly, so lively that the mobility of a film production is sufficient. This is nicely, graceful and original; Käutner puzzles on a suitable object. A stroke of luck in German film when something is both high-quality and entertaining. Käutner's semi-musical could certainly only succeed because he had an ensemble at his disposal that knows how to play fine comedies. Gründgens brings unimpeachable sovereignty to the role of Bolingbroke; he can serve chansons, shoot punchlines like arrows and has musicality. He determines the ironic tone of this first ensemble. (...) A film for gourmets, for cinema fans who look closely and like to listen. "
"The poster for this new color film by Helmut Käutner -" Sparkling as champagne! " - proves to be incorrect: In the cabaret preparation, the director puzzled out the courtly intrigues, farce of the French comedian Eugène Scribe (1791 to 1861). The sensation that one might expect from the film comeback of the 60-year-old Gustaf Gründgens (last film role: "Friedemann Bach", 1941) does not materialize either: the artificial language and gestures of the celebrated acting professor that Käutner… makes appear effective in the alienation environment of the theater light play ... artificial. "
"He plays like in the retort."
"Some glassy humor and rigid charm."
The lexicon of international films reads: "As an ironically formed theater performance with brilliant acting and elegant directing, the cheerful, stylized film is pure pleasure."
On cinema.online it said briefly: "Ironic discourse on the art of intrigue."
source
Program for the film: Das Neue Film-Programm , Mannheim, without any number
Web links
- The glass of water in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The glass of water at filmportal.de
- Ten pictures from the film at Cinema.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Käutner's "Glass of Water" with Gründgens-Krahl: It is difficult to be light. Hamburger Abendblatt , July 7, 1960, accessed on November 3, 2015 .
- ↑ New in Germany: The glass of water. Der Spiegel , July 20, 1960, accessed November 3, 2015 .
- ↑ The glass of water. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed November 3, 2015 .
- ↑ The glass of water on cinema.de