The Councilor Geiger
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Councilor Geiger |
 | |
| Country of production | Austria |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1947 |
| length | 93 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Hans Wolff |
| script | Hans Wolff Martin Costa (author of the book) |
| production | Willi Forst film |
| music | Hans Lang |
| camera |
Rudolf Icsey , Ladislaus Szemte |
| cut | Hans Wolff |
| occupation | |
| |
Der Hofrat Geiger (reference title Der Hofrat Geiger - Mariandl ) is a film by Hans Wolff from 1947 based on the musical comedy of the same name by Martin Costa . The leading roles are cast with Paul Hörbiger , Maria Andergast , Hans Moser and Waltraut Haas . As one of the first homeland films after the Second World War , it drew attention to the largely undestroyed province and made the Wachau famous .
action
Hofrat Geiger and his factotum Ferdinand Lechner, who retired as a ministerial official in 1938, live very withdrawn. In order to make life easier for the Councilor, Lechner persuades him that his successor is not very familiar with the matter and asks him for advice. For this purpose, Lechner “borrows” old files that the Councilor processes. Geiger learns from one of these old documents that he has a daughter with Marianne Mühlhuber, whom he met in the summer of 1929 in Spitz an der Donau.
In Spitz, Marianne Mühlhuber ekes out a dreary existence as the housekeeper of the run-down inn “Blaue Gans”, into which the old Windischgruber and her illegitimate child have taken her in for room and board. The guests stay away, the debts push down. Marianne is being courted by Mathias Pfüller, mayor, butcher and owner of the "Golden Ox". Her daughter, Mariandl, 17, is madly in love with the house servant Hans. Since Hans “is nothing and can do nothing”, and to prevent her daughter from having an illegitimate child, the mother tries in vain to stop this love.
Geiger comes to Spitz and is greeted by Marianne in a cool and dismissive manner. He wants to leave again, but then meets his daughter, who doesn't know him, and decides to stay in Spitz.
In the meantime, Pfüller informs Marianne that she is not an Austrian because of her responsibility in Znojmo and recommends that she marry an Austrian in order to obtain citizenship. Marianne marries, but not Pfüller, but Geiger, with whom she has agreed that their marriage should only exist on paper. To regain her independence, she goes to Vienna to apply for citizenship. Without Marianne knowing about it, her nudes are edited by Geiger, who ensures that it takes over a year that Marianne spends in Vienna.
Marianne drives to Spitz together with Geiger - “because of Pfüller and because of the people in general” - and experiences one surprise after the other: the “Blue Goose” has been rebuilt, it is teeming with guests, Mariandl and Hans have married and a - marital - Mariandl .
Marianne, initially angry that Geiger staged and financed all of this behind her back, finally finds out the reason why he did all of this: because he loves her.
production
Production notes, publication
The play on which the film is based was premiered in Prague in 1942; Franz Füssel was named as the author, as Costa was banned from working during the Nazi era . In May 1945 the play was resumed with the real name of the author in the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna . The film was shot in the Atelier Wien-Schönbrunn and in Spitz an der Donau . For the Filmbauten wore Fritz Jüptner-Jonstorff responsibility for the costumes Helga Tramberger. The world premiere took place in Vienna on December 19, 1947, in Munich on November 19, 1948 and in West Berlin on July 29, 1949. The film was also released in October 1951 in Finland, in February 1952 in Sweden, in 1954 in in the USA and in January 1956 in Denmark. It was also published in Italy. The English title is Counselor Geiger .
The film was released on DVD by Studio Hoanzl in 2009 in the category “Der Österreichische Film / Edition der Standard # 132”. On November 16, 2004, it was already released on DVD by Studiocanal / Kinowelt.
Review
Although the play of the same name was made in 1942, the film is set in 1947, two years after the end of the war, at the time of the food rations. The opening credits read: “This film is set in Austria today, which is poor and full of worry. But - do not be afraid - he will show you little of that. He doesn't pass the time, he just says that a lot - if you want - can also have a cheerful side. "
- Anschluss in 1938: When Austria was annexed to National Socialist Germany, Hofrat Geiger was removed from his post, as were other unpopular officials.
- Compensation: Geiger wants to "make amends" for what he has done. Marianne "can no longer hear the word" because the political discussion about the victims of the Nazi tyranny at that time was sometimes very superficial and it was believed that with a few financial donations, all the terror could be forgotten. For Marianne, too, the difficult times with the illegitimate child cannot be made up for with a marriage and financial security.
- Barter deals: as in the rough reality in which some townspeople had to give up their family jewelry for lard and milk, Lechner also had problems getting the eggs for Geiger's forked breakfast.
- Endless queues in front of the offices: an administrative path that stretched out over a whole year was more the rule than the exception in reality.
- Closed offices due to lack of electricity and / or coal: a reflection of the times.
- Dorfkaiser: Pfüller is the prototype of the all-powerful village emperor - mayor, butcher, innkeeper and winemaker, who allows himself everything and makes full use of his position of power.
Hofrat Geiger was the most economically successful film of the post-war years with an unusually high number of visitors of 2,548,000 by April 30, 1951. Christl Mardayn was originally intended for the role of Marianne Mühlhuber . For the film debutante Waltraut Haas , the film marked the breakthrough to a successful career. She had been selected at the instigation of director Hans Wolff and, among others, was preferred to Maria Schell, who was still little known at the time . Her fee was 1,500 schillings.
The song Mariandl, which was voiced several times in the film, was already the most successful hit of 1947 in the interpretation by Maria Andergast and Hans Lang . The text of this song with the rhyme from “Wachauer Landl” to “Mariandl” came from Kurt Nachmann .
criticism
The lexicon of international films spoke of a “soulful comedy based on the usual patterns, entertaining for friends of this genre thanks to hits that were popular at the time such as 'Mariandl'; unrealistic and from today's perspective strongly inclined to kitsch ”.
“The three main actors Paul Hörbiger, Maria Andergast and Hans Moser have been put back into a suitable setting, which enabled them to revive the old popularity of the embodied types from the Austrian folklore and thus the Austrian entertainment film again abroad to help establish the reputation that bad films have tried to achieve in vain. "
"Undemanding Viennese history [...], told with humor [...]."
Cinema dismissed the film with the words: "Kitsch with hits like 'Mariandl'."
Remakes
In the remakes, some actors reappear in other roles. Sometimes the actions are assigned to the wrong year in descriptions.
In 1961 Werner Jacobs directed a remake of the film under the title Mariandl with Rudolf Prack as Hofrat Geiger, Waltraut Haas as Marianne Mühlhuber, Cornelia Froboess as Mariandl and Hans Moser as Windischgruber, which followed Mariandl's return home in 1962 with the same leading actors. In 1996 there was another remake for television under the title Hofrat Geiger (OT) or Alte Liebe - Neues Glück (DT) by Peter Weck with Peter Weck as Hofrat Geiger and Christiane Hörbiger as Marianne Mühlhuber.
| Role name | function | 1947: Hofrat Geiger | 1961: Mariandl (1962: Mariandl's homecoming ) |
1996: Hofrat Geiger / Old Love - New Luck |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| script | Hans Wolff | Janne Furch | Lida Winiewicz | |
| Director | Hans Wolff | Werner Jacobs | Peter Weck | |
Councilor
|
Father from Mariandl | Paul Hörbiger | Rudolf Prack | Peter Weck |
| Ferdinand Lechner | Factotum of the Hofrat former subordinate |
Hans Moser | [~ Peter Hofer & Franzi & Ferdl] | [~ Mr. Fucik] |
| Franzi | Geiger's housekeeper | Helli Servi | Susi Nicoletti | - |
| Ferdl | Service man | - | Hugo Gottschlich | |
| Mr. Fucik | Trunk taxi driver | - | - | Heinz Petters |
| Marianne Mühlhuber | Mother from Mariandl | Maria Andergast | Waltraut Haas | Christiane Hörbiger |
|
woos Marianne
|
Hermann Erhardt | Gunther Philipp | |
| Mariandl Mühlhuber | Daughter of Geiger and Marianne | Waltraut Haas | Cornelia Froboess | Birgit Stauber |
|
Lover of Mariandl
|
Louis Soldan | Peter Weck | |
|
Landlord, "grandpa" | Josef Egger | Hans Moser | Otto Tausig |
| Inn 1 | Blue Goose | Golden goose | ||
| Inn 2 | Golden ox | Hotel Post | ||
| The act | old act with a request for the daughter to be admitted to a convent school | Mariandl's music scholarship was rejected | Grant for the renovation of a castle from Countess Chiari, Mariandl is involved | |
| "Mariandl" | song |
|
|
literature
- Hans Lang and Martin Costa : The Hofrat Geiger. Musical comedy in three acts. Performance manuscript. Musikverlag Josef Weinberger and Musik und Bühne Verlagsgesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main and Wiesbaden o. J.
- Waltraud Mortensen-Gsell: From Hofrat Geiger to Mariandl. Staged gender representations in the original film and its remake. Diploma thesis, Univ. Vienna, 2009.
Web links
- Groll Geiger in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Hofrat Geiger at filmportal.de
- Hofrat Geiger Paul Hörbiger and Maria Andergast on the cover of Illustrated Film-Kurier No. 342
- Hofrat Geiger (Mariandl) Paul Hörbiger and Waltraut Haas on the cover of Illustrierte Film-Bühne No. 302
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Hofrat Geiger Fig. DVD case (in the picture Louis Soldan, Paul Hörbiger, Waltraut Haas)
- ↑ Hofrat Geiger Fig. DVD case Kinowelt (in the picture Hans Moser, Paul Hörbiger)
- ↑ Beatrice Weinmann: Waltraut Haas. Residenz, 2007, ISBN 978-3-7017-3039-1 , p. 58.
- ↑ Hit record. German chart singles 1956–1980. With hits from 1930–1955. Taurus Press, 2000, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 , p. 406.
- ^ The Councilor Geiger. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Source: Mein Film magazine , June 6, 1947, p. 8.
- ↑ 6000 films. Critical notes from the cinema years 1945 to 1958. Handbook V of the Catholic film criticism, 3rd edition. Altenberg House, Düsseldorf 1963, p. 196.
- ↑ The Hofrat Geiger see page cinema.de (including film excerpt, film poster and 13 film images). Retrieved May 3, 2019.
