The Woman in White (1971)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The woman in white |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1971 |
| length | 255 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Wilhelm Semmelroth |
| script | Herbert Asmodi |
| music | Hans Jonsson |
| camera | Dieter Naujeck |
| cut | Wolfgang Richter |
| occupation | |
| |
The Woman in White is a German three-part television film from 1971 with Heidelinde Weis in the title role.
The film is based on the novel The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins and takes place in the 19th century. The literary film adaptation , directed by Wilhelm Semmelroth , was broadcast for the first time by WDR as a three-part series on May 16, 23 and 30, 1971 on ARD . It is a mixture of melodrama , horror and crime film with socially critical undertones. With nine million viewers, it was one of the most successful TV productions of 1971 and is considered a street sweeper . Heidelinde Weis played a double role in the film, that of Laura and her doppelganger, the mysterious, now and then appearing woman in white who Laura warns of her fiancé. With the role, Weis made her breakthrough as an actress in television films.
action
Part 1: an unhappy love
Drawing teacher Walter Hartright is convinced by his friend Pesca to take the position at the Fairlie house. Shortly before leaving, he meets a woman in white clothes who has escaped from a psychiatric hospital. Hartright helps her escape before taking on the task of teaching nieces Laura and her older half-sister Marian. Both live in the country castle of their uncle, Sir Frederic Fairlie, who appears as a hypochondriac. Hartright immediately recognizes the great external resemblance between Laura and the woman in white. A romance develops between Laura and him; but that contradicts the fact that Sir Frederic has already signed a contract to marry Laura's fiancé, Sir Percival Glyde. Glyde insists on compliance with the contract. When Walter hears about the engagement, he leaves the castle. In a letter, the woman in white revealed that Sir Percival was only interested in Laura's legacy. Sir Percival is in league with Count Fosco and his wife, one of Laura's aunt.
Part 2: the devil's plan
Laura eventually marries Sir Percival despite her dislike of him. Fosco and the heavily indebted Percival do everything they can to get Laura's inheritance. Fosco hatches a perfidious plan to get the woman in white out of the way because she is the only one who knows Percival's secret from a dark past and wants to entrust this secret to Laura. Marian, who becomes an ear witness when the plan is being worked out, is overridden with the help of poisoned drinking water and becomes ill for a long time. The already ill health woman in white falls into Fosco's hands and finally dies of heart failure from fear of death from Sir Percival, who is standing in front of her bed one night. Fosco and Percival continue to implement their diabolical plan: they bring Laura back to the psychiatric clinic as a woman in white and have her declared dead.
Part 3: secrets
When Walter Hartright returns, he only finds Laura's grave. But Marian explains to him that this is the "woman in white". Marian leads Walter to Laura, who in the meantime has managed to escape from the psychiatric clinic. Hartright does everything to restore Laura's identity, but Conte Fosco and Sir Percival Glyde want to prevent this at all costs. The key to restoring Laura's identity lies in the discovery of the dark secrets of Fosco and Glyde, whom Hartright uncovered with the help of his friend Pesca.
background
The 1860 novel The Woman in White was first filmed in the United States in 1912. The first British film adaptation was made in 1929. The two silent films were followed in 1940 by a sound film depicting the same subject, also in the USA. In 1948, the novel in the US under the title was The Woman in White (dt .: The mystery of the woman in white filmed) and broadcast on ARD 2012th The production Die Frau in Weiß from 1971 is an attempt to adapt the material for the German television audience.
criticism
"Chic television horror, pleasantly old-fashioned"
"Exciting TV entertainment far from technology and stress"
Web links
- The woman in white in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The woman in white at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Thomas groom: Classics of television films. The best of 60 years of television history , Schüren Verlag, Marburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-89472-859-5 (some of which can be viewed on Google Books )
- ↑ ARD program, October 17, 2012
- ↑ The woman in white , tvspielfilm.de
- ↑ [1]