The canopy bed (1952)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The four-poster bed |
| Original title | The Four poster |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1952 |
| length | 100 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Irving Reis |
| script | Allan Scott |
| production | Stanley Kramer |
| music | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| camera | Hal Mohr |
| cut | Henry Batista |
| occupation | |
| |
The four-poster bed is the US film adaptation of a dialogue-rich two-person play by Irving Reis with Rex Harrison and his then-wife Lilli Palmer in the leading roles. The production is based on the play The Four Poster , a kind of chronicle of a marriage with all its ups and downs, by Jan de Hartog .
action
The plot spans three and a half decades and begins in New York City in 1897. John and Abby Edwards have just married and artfully want to elude the innumerable wedding guests who have accompanied them to their hotel. John carries Abby in both bedrooms and proudly shows her the four-poster bed he made himself. Abby is alarmed when John hesitantly suggests that one day pass the bed to her children. While John is intoning a brisk French melody, Abby (and later him too) wonders if he had a lover before her. John evades, and Abby wonders if she might have made a mistake in marrying him. John calms her down, and Abby tells him that she married him because they are good friends. John offers Abby a drink, hoping she'll calm down as she philosophizes about a viable future they can both look forward to. That seems secure since Abby's father John found a job as a teacher. Abby tries to get John to read his poems to her, but he changes clothes and appears moments later in an old-fashioned monogrammed nightgown and hat, which in turn makes Abby laugh as they climb into the four-poster bed.
A few months later. John's casual style of teaching at the rigidly conservative Dean Killan's Academy brings him into conflict with his honest colleagues who would like to get rid of John. While driving home from school in a snowstorm, John catches a cold. Although Abby is about to give birth and has other things on her mind than his problems, she stands by him in this matter and continues to keep the household running. John, who has literary ambitions, waits with great tension for the mail every day, because he hopes that a submitted book manuscript, a volume of poetry, will be accepted by a publisher. Unfortunately, he only received rejections from all the houses. So in a fit of anger, John burns his manuscript. As John struggles with finding a new job, Abby suggests that he write about what he knows, not what he wants. It already has a title ready: "Whither Thou" (Quo vadis?), A line from the Bible. John worries about vying for Abby's attention with the baby, but when her labor begins, he runs to the doctor. They both become the proud parents of a healthy newborn baby named Benjamin.
John is now also enjoying success as a writer. "Whither Thou" becomes a bestseller, and John shifts his ambitions towards romantic novels, which are particularly popular with female readers. John's artistic successes also show his unpleasant side: his egocentricity. Twelve years after their marriage, Abby has had enough of John's selfish behavior. She also shows little interest in his admission that he would meet with another woman who particularly values his writing skills. Their relaxed reaction alarms John, and after an argument that breaks out over it, Abby throws him out of the bedroom and refuses to let him back in. After declaring she's going to get a divorce, Abby panics because she doesn't want to let her beloved husband go like that. There is a lot going back and forth, and finally Abby knocks him down. She then demands that he read his new manuscript to her, and they make up.
Years go by and war is raging in Europe. Both spouses are worried about their mature Filius Benjamin, who wants to go into the field. In fact, a little later, Ben fell at the front in France. John tries everything to comfort the devastated Abby, but she withdraws completely from him. A few years later, at her daughter Florence's wedding, Abby reveals to John that she doesn't want to waste her life by his side any more. She had met a young poet who would inspire her and asked John to separate. The next day, when Abby is packing her things, John offers to go on another honeymoon with her. He would take her anywhere. John makes fun of Abby's poet's work and confesses how much he needs Abby. He asks his wife not to go and stay with him. That was actually exactly what Abby wanted to hear. She hugs him gratefully and stays by his side.
John and Abby are traveling to Paris for their second honeymoon, and upon returning, John is now starting to write seriously. One evening, a few years later, John suggests toasting her latest contract and also that her latest health check was satisfactory. Abby is bringing the cognac glass to her mouth when John knocks the glass out of her hand and confesses to having poisoned her drink. His last book was a total failure, there is no new contract, and Abby is terminally ill. He had intended that they should die together and now feels completely lost. Abby hugs him and tells him that they will always be together. Eventually Abby dies of cancer. Years later, after her death, a grown old John, who has since received numerous literary prizes, struggles to keep writing. But Abby keeps appearing in his mind's eye, now as a spiritual phenomenon. When he demands that she leave him alone, Abby tells him it is time for both of them to reunite. John dies and returns to Abby at a time when they were the newlyweds from the beginning of the film.
Production notes
Filming of The Four-Poster Bed began on September 24, 1951 and ended on October 18 of the same year. The world premiere took place on October 15, 1952 in New York, the German premiere took place on October 16, 1953. German television premiere was on December 19, 1966 on ZDF .
Producer Stanley Kramer also took on the line of production, while screenwriter Alan Scott took the lead. The film structures were designed by Rudolph Sternad , executed by Carl Anderson . Jean Louis designed Lilli Palmer's robes.
The individual episodes of the marriage story are linked by short animated sequences from the hand of John Hubley .
Synchronized versions
The first German dubbed version was made in 1953 by Conrad von Molo based on a dialogue book by Harald G. Petersson and Gisela Breiderhoff . Maria Wimmer and Hans Nilsen spoke to Palmer and Harrison, respectively. The film was re- dubbed in the mid-1980s with Randolf Kronberg and Katharina Lopinski in the corresponding parts.
Awards / nominations
- Lilli Palmer received the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival in 1953 .
- Hal Mohr's camera work was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award .
- The directors Irving Reis and John Hubley received another nomination, this time for the Golden Lion , in Venice.
To the literary model
Jan de Hartog's two-person play The Four Poster premiered in London on October 12, 1950 and starred Michael Denison and Dulce Gray. After only 68 performances it was over and the play was canceled. De Hartog rewrote the story for a Broadway presentation and gave the story a happy ending. The Four Poster was first shown on Broadway on October 24, 1951 , this time starring the actor couple Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy.
In 1961 The Four Poster was filmed as Das Riesenrad with Maria Schell and OW Fischer .
Reviews
Hal Erickson (review in English, translated here) said: “All of the core scenes are set in the couple's boudoir, near the four-poster bed they received as a wedding present. The passing years and the triumphs and tragedies of the couple are lively presented. "
The Lexicon of International Films found: “The life story of an American couple from 1897 to 1933, focused on happy, thoughtful and sad scenes and dialogues in the shared bedroom. A two-person piece that is balanced in terms of both content and form, is always tactful and very attractive in terms of presentation. "
The Movie & Video Guide saw the film as a “tour de force of the stars” and located a “warm, funny script”.
Halliwell's Film Guide came to a completely different conclusion, seeing the film as "a hackneyed and rather seedy version of a play."
On the occasion of the Austrian premiere on July 23, 1954, Paimann's film lists praised the polished dialogues of the German-dubbed version and highlighted the main actors who were “equally expressive in both playful and tragic”.
Individual evidence
- ↑ First dubbed version on homepagemodules.de
- ↑ The Four Poster on allemovie.com
- ↑ The four-poster bed. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed February 4, 2020 .
- ^ Leonard Maltin : Movie & Video Guide, 1996 edition, p. 455
- ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 373
- ^ Criticism on Paimann's film lists
Web links
- The four poster bed in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Four Poster in the American Film Institute Catalog