The captain and his hero
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The captain and his hero |
| Country of production | Federal Republic of Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1955 |
| length | 87 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Max Nosseck |
| script | Karl-Wilhelm Vivier |
| production |
CCC film ( Artur Brauner ) |
| music | Martin Böttcher |
| camera |
Georg Bruckbauer Karl Loeb |
| cut | Annemarie Rokoss |
| occupation | |
| |
The Captain and His Hero is a satirical film about militarism and World War II from 1955 . It is based on the novel and play of the same name by Claus Hubalek .
action
The film begins in 1926 with the birth of Paul Kellermann; one sees his father Franz waiting excitedly during the delivery. Paul's mother is concerned and would have preferred to have a girl because "girls don't have to go to war".
Seventeen years later, in 1943 during the Second World War, the young high school graduate Paul Kellermann was urged to “volunteer” for service in the Wehrmacht . With his mother's tears he moves into the barracks to be made a soldier there. Paul quickly catches the eye of the imperious company commander, Captain Eisenhecker, because of his still civil, human demeanor. Eisenhecker is frustrated because he cannot be used at the front due to an eye injury and therefore cannot get an opportunity to receive awards.
When Paul gets his first vacation after all the drill and harassment from his superiors and comrades, he is surprised by an air raid while outing with his girlfriend Ilse in the city. A nearby military district command receives bomb hits, Paul follows orders to help with the clean-up work. In doing so, he received a blank certificate for the award of the Iron Cross, second class . On a whim, he then enters his name on the certificate at home. When he overslept the next day and turned up late for duty, he showed them to avoid the anger of Captain Eisenhecker and invented the rescue of 14 buried victims, which should make the awarding of the award plausible.
The deception succeeds at first, Eisenhecker is enthusiastic about the supposed courage of "his" soldier and sees the alleged rescue of the buried by Kellermann as the result of his soldier education. The captain proudly introduces his hero to the superior general, who finally promotes Eisenhecker and sends Kellermann to the officers' school. In the same conversation, Eisenhecker finally realizes, through a contradiction in the “heroic story”, that he was caught in a fraud. However, since his long-awaited recognition depends on Kellermann's act, he has to be silent.
In 1945, Paul is now lieutenant and Eisenhecker major, the two meet again in the turmoil of the last weeks of the war. Eisenhecker still fanatically believes in the final victory and demands a senseless and probably fatal mission from his soldiers, which Kellermann opposes as the officer in charge. Eisenhecker then summons a court martial and wants Kellermann to be shot immediately for “cowardice in front of the enemy” and, not least, to take revenge on what he believes to be a false hero. Both the officers in attendance and the sergeant who kept the protocol - once Kellermann's " spit " - refused to enforce the sentence. Eisenhecker's subsequent outburst of anger finally interrupted the incoming American troops. When looking for souvenirs, they first take Eisenhecker and then Kellermann off their iron crosses.
In the final scene, you see Paul waiting excitedly for the birth of his child five years later, like his father. It's a girl, Paul is relieved that girls don't have to go to war.
background
The film was produced in a makeshift studio in the Hotel Esplanade in Berlin. The outdoor shots were taken in and around Berlin. The premiere took place on July 8, 1955 in Essen. The film music was the first work by Martin Böttcher, who later became known in particular for the music for the Karl May films.
reception
The satire not only turns against the Nazi war, which is clearly portrayed as a crime - it also condemns militarism and militarists as a whole. The Evangelische Film-Beobachter describes the work as a “sharp criticism of heroism, militarism and perseverance” and concludes that the film is “rich in deep truths despite some exaggeration”.
Awards and nominations
The novel The Captain and His Hero by Claus Hubalek was awarded the Gerhart Hauptmann Prize in 1953 .
Web links
- The captain and his hero in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dr. Alfred Bauer: German feature film Almanach. Volume 2: 1946-1955 , pp. 513-514
- ↑ Martin Böttcher on his 85th birthday ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 1, 2014
- ↑ Quoted from Dr. Helmut G. Asper: Almost Groszisch: Max Nosseck's anti-war satire The captain and his hero ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 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. . Retrieved December 1, 2014
- ↑ Evangelischer Presseverband München, Review No. 625/1955
