The man who couldn't say no
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The man who couldn't say no |
 | |
| Country of production | Denmark , Switzerland |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1958 |
| length | 91 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 0 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Kurt Früh |
| script |
Hans Jacoby , Max Colpet |
| production |
Rialto Film Preben Philipsen ( Preben Philipsen ), Pen-Film ( Conrad von Molo ) |
| music | Heinrich Sutermeister |
| camera | Göran Strindberg |
| cut | Edith Keys |
| occupation | |
| |
The Man Who Couldn't Say No (Danish title: Manden, der ikke ku 'sige nej ) is a Danish-Swiss comedy film that was shot in 1958 under the direction of Kurt Früh . Heinz Rühmann played the main role . The black and white film was shown in West German cinemas from September 4, 1958. The cinema release in Denmark took place on August 11, 1959.
action
The childless married Thomas Träumer is a sales representative for kitchen appliances. Contrary to the wishes of his wife Eva, who would rather see him in a higher position, the kind-hearted man is extremely satisfied with his private and professional situation. One afternoon he meets his old school friend Alfons Ulrich, who confesses to him that he is secretly owning a second home for his lover. He offers him to use this apartment as well, which Thomas Träumer initially declines with thanks. On the way home, Träumer buys the little dog Strupps, whom a poor girl practically talks to him. Eva, who does not tolerate animals in the house, is not enthusiastic about the purchase. But when the dreamer goes for a walk with the dog, Strupps has already disappeared again. The girl who sold the dog called him back.
A little later the girl named Bettina is sitting at a police station. The officials accuse Bettina of having sold the dog to several people. The girl, who fled from her parents' house a few weeks ago, asserts that this was the only way to earn a living. The deceived buyers agree that Däumer may keep the dog. Since he wants to avoid another argument with his wife, he moves the animal into Alfons Ulrich's second home. Bettina finally finds herself in a transport to a welfare institution . Together with two other girls, Marilyn and Hilde, she manages to escape. With invented stories about the harsh prison conditions, the boiled girls talk to the gullible Thomas Träumer, who then billets them in Ulrich's apartment.
In order to be able to live there longer , Marilyn Thomas, arrested for prostitution , wants to seduce dreamers. When the respectable man does not respond, Bettina fakes a bad cold. Then Alfons Ulrich appears, who thinks the three runaways are dreamer's love affairs and celebrates a party with them in the evening. Only when the dreamer tells his friend that the three girls have escaped from prison does the friend disappear. In the meantime, Bettina has confessed to the good-natured dreamer that the stories about imprisonment were made up. He lets the girls stay in the apartment for one night and promises to take them to the zone border the next day . In fact, however, he wants to take her back to the welfare institution, which he confides in Bettina. Hilde doesn't believe dreamers. In order to get money, she breaks into a neighboring house via the roof.
When Däumer went to the apartment the next morning, the three girls had disappeared without a trace. Instead, the police are waiting for him there. Since the girls are on the run, Däumer is arrested by Inspector Kümmelmann because of the risk of blackout . Strupps meanwhile ends up in a dog pen . The newspapers report extensively on the "double life" and the "love nest" of the "immoral Thomas dreamer". His wife threatens to divorce him . The responsible examining magistrate rules out a discharge. Bettina and Marilyn burst into the middle of the interrogation. After learning of Träumer's arrest from the newspaper, they decided to help the man and to surrender. The judge releases dreamers. Eva is already waiting in front of the prison, who ultimately believes her husband. Together they drive to the dog kennel to pick up Strupps.
History of origin
prehistory
The Danish film producer Preben Philipsen , co-founder of the German Constantin Filmverleihs , left the distribution business in 1955 in order to dedicate himself to the production company Rialto Film founded by his father . Philipsen, who continued to have a close relationship with Constantin Filmverleih, wanted to primarily produce films for the German market with Copenhagen- based Rialto Film. For his 1958 project The Man Who Couldn't Say No , he finally hired one of the biggest stars in German film: Heinz Rühmann . The script, which was initially called The Immoral Herr Thomas Träumer , came from the pen of Hans Jacoby and Max Colpet and was based on a novella by Jacoby. The Swiss Pen-Film by Conrad von Molo was also involved in the co-production .
production
The shooting took place in Copenhagen and the surrounding area. The studio recordings were made in the Palladium studios in Hellerup . The film architects Erik Aaes and Rudolf Remp were responsible for the buildings . Elisabeth Vreeland designed the costumes. Production manager was Helmut Beck.
reception
publication
Because the FSK feared that the film "would seriously endanger the mental and social fitness of 16-17 year olds", it only released the film from the age of 18. The reason for the youth ban also stated: “The three sympathetically drawn little fruits who sneak into the strange apartment are trying without further ado to find a place to stay by prostituting first the dreamer, then the owner of the apartment. This happens in an attractive way and without receiving any noteworthy criticism. For their offenses, the girls have sentimental excuses that want to be taken seriously. The film stands in a confusing and morally questionable twilight of tolerated immorality and awe. "
The West German premiere of The Man Who Couldn't Say No took place on September 4, 1958. In Denmark, where the film was called Manden, der ikke ku 'sige nej , it opened on August 11, 1959.
The film could be marketed in other countries and ran there under the following titles, among others:
- Belgium , French title: L'Homme qui ne pouvait pas dire non
- Belgium , Dutch title: De Man die niet neen zeggen kon
- France : L'Homme qui ne savait pas dire non
- Sweden : Han customer inte säja nej
- Spain : Un tímido en apuros
Due to the FSK approval from the age of 18, the film was initially not shown on television, which is why it was largely forgotten. The film was first released on DVD in September 2005. For this, the film was checked again by the FSK and has now received an approval without age restriction.
Reviews
“It's surprising that Heinz Rühmann couldn't say no to the temptation of this film. After his successful debut as a character actor in the Dürrenmatt film ' It happened in bright day ' [...] he returns here as 'the immoral Mr. Thomas Träumer' - that is the original title - in the areas of leisurely petty jokes and alleged criticism of time. Neither Rühmann nor jokes nor criticism thrives there. "
“You have to know what you want, what you can and are allowed to do. Even with filmmaking. If you want to make the most timid social appeal in a film, you can't turn the topic into clothes, let alone puff it up. You can't do it. But that’s the story of the decent Mr Dreamer who buys a dog, who comes across this dog to a neglected young girl, which he - together with two other, even more neglected young women - hides in a friend's accommodation. This story is utterly absurd unless it is boring. No Heinz Rühmann can help over that. Too bad. Here he should have said no ... "
"[...] Comedy story, the clichéd construction of which is covered over by Heinz Rühmann's melancholy comic characters."
Web links
- The man who could not say no in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The man who couldn't say no in the Internet Archive (formats: .mp4 and .ogv )
Individual evidence
- ↑ 91 minutes for cinema projection (24 images / second), 87 minutes for television playback (25 images / second)
- ↑ Release certificate of the FSK from August 25, 1958. Test number: 17719
- ↑ The man who couldn't say no . Universe movie . EAN : 828767015798
- ↑ Release certificate from the FSK dated August 25, 2005. Test number: 17719
- ^ Film: New in Germany . In: Der Spiegel . No. 41 , 1958, pp. 58 ( online ).
- ↑ Heinz Rühmarm as "The man who couldn't say no". In: Abendblatt.de. Hamburger Abendblatt , October 15, 1958, accessed on May 26, 2018 .
- ↑ The man who couldn't say no. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .