The battle for the Matterhorn
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The battle for the Matterhorn |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1928 |
| length | 82 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Nunzio Malasomma Mario Bonnard |
| script | Nunzio Malasomma based on an idea by Arnold Fanck and the factual novel of the same name (1928) by Carl Haensel |
| production |
Arthur Hohenberg Moisy Markus Stefan Markus for Horn-Film GmbH, Berlin |
| camera |
Sepp Allgeier (outdoor shots) Willy Winterstein (studio and outdoor shots) |
| occupation | |
| |
The fight for the Matterhorn is a German mountaineering silent film from 1928 with Luis Trenker .
action
Switzerland, in the 1860s. Anton Carrel, an Italian mountain guide, lives a modest but happy life with his wife Felicitas at the foot of the Matterhorn . He has a kind of love-hate relationship with this legendary mountain, as he has already failed several times to climb the towering giant stone. The couple live under one roof with Anton's half-brother Giaccomo, who has a vicious character. Since he has his eye on Felicitas, he hopes that Carrel will not return home from the next attempt to climb the Matterhorn. The British mountaineer Edward Whymper has also firmly resolved to conquer the summit and is therefore making contact with the experienced mountaineer. But Carrel refuses the requested tour, and so Whymper makes his way up without Carrel, only with the hunchbacked Meynet as company. But Whymper crashes in his attempt and is seriously injured and taken to the modest accommodation of the Carrels. Felicitas cared for him there devotedly. Giaccomo sees the chance to arouse jealousy in Anton and incite the two men against each other by insinuating that feelings are developing between Felicitas and the Englishman. Carrel decides not to let Whymper out of his sight from now on and agrees to lead him to the Matterhorn summit. In fact, there is an argument on the rise, but in the end it is Whymper who saves Carrel from a sticky situation. Felicitas, who has observed the argument between the two men from afar, follows them and gets caught in a heavy snowstorm. She collapses exhausted and is found by her husband. For him, Felicitas' presence is proof that his wife took care of him.
More years passed, and Whymper wanted to try again to climb the Matterhorn; this time accompanied by some compatriots. At the same time, Anton Carrel is on the wall with some Italians. The first ascent of the mountain threatens to become a race against time. Whymper is the first to reach the summit and hoists the English flag. Four of his companions fall on the descent, only the rope wrapped around them, at the end of which Edward Whymper holds them, stands between life and death. Whymper's forces dwindle and the rope rubs through at a sharp point on the rock, so that the unfortunate fall into the depths. Devastated, only Whymper and two mountain guides return to the village at the foot of the Matterhorn. The Briton is seriously accused of having caused the deaths of his four compatriots by simply cutting the rope on which his cronies were hanging in order to save his own life. Edward Whymper collapses, completely exhausted and deeply saddened. But now it is Anton Carrel of all people who takes his side and is convinced that these accusations are unjustified. He climbs into the mountain again and looks for the rope that will decide the weal and woe, guilt or innocence of the first Matterhorn climber. In fact, he does find it, and Carrel shows it to his villagers: in fact, the rope broke and was not cut.
Production notes
The battle for the Matterhorn began in 1928 on the Matterhorn as well as in Zermatt and Monte Rosa . The studios were taken up in the Jofa studios in Berlin-Johannisthal . The seven-act act with a length of 2692 meters passed the censorship on October 29, 1928 and was premiered for Germany on December 3, 1928 in Berlin's Ufa-Palast am Zoo . The world premiere took place a week earlier, on November 27, 1928 in Switzerland. On January 11, 1929, the battle for the Matterhorn started in Austria.
The film-technical buildings were designed by Heinrich C. Richter . Luis Trenker and Viktor Skutezky took over the production management. The later famous Swiss cameraman Richard Angst took part in this film expedition as a mountain guide.
The film received the ratings "artistically valuable" and "educational film".
In 1937 Luis Trenker directed Der Berg ruft, a sound film version of the same material, and again took on the role of Carrel.
synchronization
In 1934, a dubbed version of the silent film was released, shortened by 431 meters and yet expanded by two acts, in which none of the original actors spoke his role. It appeared on July 13, 1934 in the Titania Palace in Berlin. This sound version was produced by Carl Walther Meyer, Josef Karma was in charge of the synchronization.
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Carrel | Luis Trenker | Erich Haussmann |
| Felicitas | Marcella Albani | Edith Robbers |
| Carrel's mother | Alexandra Schmitt | Hèlène Robert |
| Giaccomo | Clifford McLaglen | Hermann Mayer-Falkow |
Reviews
“Can a film have a greater impact? And don't you have to honestly thank those who made it, but also those who made this unique film accessible to us ...? It is really a very unusual, breathtaking pleasure, this fight for the Matterhorn, which is impeccable in terms of image, play, direction and plot and is so unheard of because everything sounds together without any discrepancy. Mario Bonnard and Nuntio Malasomma as directors really did their best not to let any disharmonies arise as conductors of this wonderful mountain member. The presentation is like one piece, they are all excellent: Marcella Albani, Luis Trenker, Peter Voss, Hannes Schneider. And the plot fits really well into the wonderful pictures, which is partly linked to historical facts and deals with the first ascent of the Matterhorn by the Englishman Eduard Whimpers [sic!]. (...) All in all a really splendid film, of gripping, lasting violence ... "
Paimann's film lists summed up: “The subject, which is richer in plot compared to similar ones, is only slightly impaired in its effect by the repetition of essentially identical processes. In particular, the ultimate conquest of the mountain, based on a true story, has a dramatic effect, almost like an epilogue. However, the directing counteracts this through strict continuity and ensures selected beautiful images, just as the ensemble meets the performance and sporting requirements in every way and the photography deserves unreserved praise. - Overall qualification: well above average. "
On film.at it says: “The success of this material depends essentially on the real mountaineering competition for the summit victory between the Englishman Edward Whymper and the Italian Antonio Carrel in 1865. This can be described as a classic drama: there is an agon (the competition for the summit), there is a climax that is identical to reaching the summit, and there is a peripetic curve that leads to disaster with the crash . Last but not least, the broken rope that Edward Whymper brought to Zermatt as proof of his innocence is a prop in which the drama is symbolically contained. Trenker always preferred the figure of Carrels in the film adaptations of the material. He restores the competitor's mountaineering honor and thus carries off the ethical victory. "
Web links
- The fight for the Matterhorn in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The fight for the Matterhorn at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ The battle for the Matterhorn in Paimann's film lists ( 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.
- ↑ The battle for the Matterhorn on film.at
