The devil has a good laugh
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | One night in Campione |
| Original title | The devil has a good laugh |
| Country of production | Switzerland |
| original language |
Swiss German German |
| Publishing year | 1960 |
| length | 107 (Switzerland), 90 (German version), 98 (Austrian version) minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Kurt Früh |
| script | Kurt Früh Max Haufler |
| production |
Max Dora Lazar Wechsler Kurt Früh |
| music | Walter Baumgartner |
| camera | Emil Berna |
| cut |
Hans Heinrich Egger Anne Demmer |
| occupation | |
| |
The devil has a good laugh (in Germany and Austria: One Night in Campione or Three Weird Birds ) is a Swiss feature film from 1960 by Kurt Früh with a prominent Swiss and German cast.
action
The devil himself has decided to pay a visit to the earth at very short notice, and therefore suddenly appears through a manhole cover from the interior of the earth in the middle of Switzerland. There, the ill-tempered prince of Hell has to discover that three Hallodris on the waltz, Barbarossa, Dürst and Clown, are as carefree as they are happily living into the day without noticing the omnipresent happening around them that makes his mood even worse. In order to tease out the mean, greedy and villainous in their characters, the devil thinks of laying a liming stick for them and exposing them to temptation. He does this in the form of a wallet bulging with banknotes, which the three day thieves have to stumble over. And in fact, needs are awakened suddenly, of which even the future beneficiaries had no idea so far. First of all, Clown, Dürst and Barbarossa can't get their throats full enough and decide to increase their money by visiting the casinos in Konstanz and Campione. There they actually win a small fortune, which they immediately invest in a delicious meal under the Ticino sun. But then, to the delight of Satan, dark desires of trickery and mutual deception are awakened.
Barbarossa, Dürst and Clown try to cheat each other and give in to their own desires. While Barbarossa (in vain) goes hunting for women with his chic Cadillac, Dürst tries, likewise unsuccessfully, as a property speculator and falls on the nose with a villa purchase. Clown, on the other hand, who as a former juggler doesn't bear his name for nothing, wants to realize his old, long-cherished dream and finally become the owner of his own circus. But his talent is gone, nobody laughs at his jokes anymore, and laughter can no more be bought than happiness. The three failed do-not-gooders have to realize that they cannot cope in their chosen new world and decide to return to their old world, where they were poor but much happier. They give the money left over from their casino winnings to Elke and Jürgen, a falling out young couple who had just separated and thanks to the good deed of the three they can get back together. If the devil has had a good laugh thanks to his diabolical ideas, he is pissed off at this final development. After all: the desolate state of the earth in its entirety will soon reconcile the infernal curmudgeon.
Production notes
The devil has a good laugh was filmed from August 15, 1960 through October of the same year and premiered on December 15, 1960 in the Zurich Apollo film theater. The studio recordings were made a. in Zurich, the exterior shots were shot there as well as in Baden, Greifensee, Aussersihl, on Lake Constance and in the Hotel Bellevue in Lugano. The German premiere was on May 1, 1961, the Austrian four days later.
Leading actors Max Haufler as well as Hans Mehringer and Inigo Gallo assisted director Früh. Max Röthlisberger was responsible for the film construction. Emil Burri wrote the High German dialogues of the German actors . The film was produced in a Swiss German and a High German version.
The strip, conceived as a sequel to Behind the Seven Gleisen and partly financed with German money, was not a commercial success in either Switzerland or Germany.
Reviews
Paimann's film lists summed up: "A federal lumpacivagabundus phrase that [is] not unoriginal, but ... lacks the necessary exuberance, but ... at least [is] amusing."
“At the same time, The Devil has a good laugh begins with a sung, quickly cut, crookedly framed introductory sequence that sarcastically comments on the chaos of modern times and the hunt for money, until the devil himself (Morath with mustache, bowler hat and umbrella ) emerges from the gully. What comes after that no longer works. The film tends to be repetitive, silts up in the conventions of tabloid comedy and the usual cabaret excesses. "
In the lexicon of international film it says: "Cheerful Swiss comedy about the pernicious power of money."
Individual evidence
- ^ History of Swiss Film. P. 529
- ↑ One night in Campione in P aimann’s film lists ( memento of the original from June 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The devil has a good laugh. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
Web links
- The devil has a good laugh at the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The devil has a good laugh at filmportal.de