The leaping deer
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The leaping deer |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1915 |
| length | approx. 79 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Robert Wiene |
| script |
Walter Turszinsky Robert Wiene |
| production | Bioscop film, Berlin |
| occupation | |
| |
The jumping deer is a German silent film war game from 1915 written by Robert Wiene .
action
The action takes place at the beginning of the First World War in East Prussia near the Eastern Front . Russian soldiers have invaded the small border town of Günsterburg . Its commander, General Ivan Alexejewitsch Udashkow, imposed a hefty contribution on the residents , which was to be paid both in cash and in kind . The Liebenow municipal council came up with the splendid idea of chasing the Russians back from the compulsory levy by using two city-known crooks, Safebox-Ede and Korridor-Emil. Both burglar specialists are supposed to first steal back the city treasury, which was occupied by the Russians, and then go to the local food store to get back the meat and bread that had been forcibly ordered. Udashkov is furious, because after every “theft” he receives a cheeky letter in which people make fun of him. A jumping deer was always drawn as a signature.
But Liebenow also has another problem. At this point in time, when the Russians are occupying his place, Arthur, his wife Lydia's brother, has also arrived. Arthur serves as a lieutenant in the army of Kaiser Wilhelm and thus threatens to be collected by the Russians as a prisoner of war. Schwager Liebenow therefore came up with the original idea of putting Arthur in a livery so that he could be passed off as a house servant. However, the general quickly reveals the fraud when he discovers a photograph of the alleged servant in the Liebenow's house and concludes razor-sharp that he must be a family member. He therefore has Arthur, the false servant, arrested and taken to the city jail. A particularly tricky case for Safe-Ede and Korridor-Emil, who, on behalf of Liebenow, are supposed to accomplish their masterpiece by freeing the lieutenant. Meanwhile, Lydia Liebenow, who knows nothing of her husband's plan, goes to the Russian general to ask for her brother's release.
Udashkov is ready for a horse trade: freedom for Arthur if Lydia reveals to him who is hiding behind the "jumping deer". A piece of paper found announcing a meeting after an unspecified act in the Pascherwirtshaus led Lydia, who believes this could be a memo from the “jumping deer”, to pass this information on to the Russian enemy. General Udaschkow appears in the tavern with his soldiers and promptly meets Liebenow and the two master thieves who have the recently liberated Lieutenant Arthur in tow. The catastrophe would be perfect if a German unit did not advance into the area at that very moment to drive away the Russian occupiers. The general thinks he is trapped, but reacts quickly and swaps his lametta-covered officer's uniform with the rag robe of one of the two crooks. He sees this exchange very pragmatically as a gain and now puts on the medal-decorated robe of the Russian officer and appears in front of all the others with a swollen chest.
Production notes and classification
The jumping deer , occasionally also under the title Die Diebe von Gründersburg and occasionally also in combination, Der jumpingende Hirsch or Die Diebe von Gründersburg , was created in May and June 1915 in the Bioscop studio in Neubabelsberg and was launched on September 3, 1915 in Austria -Hungary (presumably) premiered. According to IMDb, the German premiere is said to have taken place in November 1915. The four-stroke had a length of 1451 meters in Germany, for Austria-Hungary a length of 1540 meters was announced. This production is the rare case of a comedic approach to propaganda film material.
The main female actress Vera Witt made her film debut here.
criticism
“The picture ... is rich in dramatic moments despite the comedy character and has a very exciting plot. (...) The figures of the burglars are delicious figures and make this picture alone into a film that can be sure of the applause of the audience. "The jumping deer" is a film that, in its own way, can be counted among the best of such contemporary film creations, all the more since, as mentioned, it is entertaining and exciting at the same time. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ the cast list, which was not published either in literature or on the Internet, was taken from a poster announcer
- ↑ Gerhard Lamprecht: German silent films 1915-1916, p. 100
- ↑ according to the film announcer in the Kinematographische Rundschau v. July 25, 1915, p. 52
- ^ Lamprecht, p. 100