The maiden on the roof

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Movie
Original title The maiden on the roof
Country of production United States
original language German
Publishing year 1953
length 90 minutes
Age rating FSK 18
Rod
Director Otto Preminger
script F. Hugh Herbert
German dialogues by Carl Zuckmayer
production Otto Preminger
music Herschel Burke Gilbert
camera Ernest Laszlo
cut Otto Ludwig
Louis R. Loeffler
occupation

The Virgin on the roof is a German-language US - comedy from 1953. Directed by Otto Preminger played Hardy Krüger , Johannes Heesters and Johanna Matz the leading roles.

action

The uninhibited, morally strict and also a little innocent-naive Patty one day meets the young architect Donald Gresham on the roof of the Empire State Building . Without any suspicion and thinking about it for a long time, she accepts his invitation to dine with him in his apartment and have a few drinks. Donald, a dazzling-looking womanizer who normally doesn’t miss a thing, is so overwhelmed by the adorable Patty's disarming innocence that he quickly gets scruples about slowing down his usual seduction program. To make matters worse, Donald's friend David bursts into the chic apartment. He has his daughter Cynthia in tow, who is just as pretentious and demanding as she is notoriously jealous.

Now Donald not only has Cynthia, who was once his fiancé, on the cheek, but also David, who is not harmless as a competitor for women's hearts and who is clearly older, who proves to be a proven woman connoisseur and experienced charmer. And that David has not the slightest inhibition, in front of Donald's eyes, with his latest conquest of Patty. The situation about two men and their wooing about a woman becomes more and more chaotic when suddenly the doorbell rings. You open the door and a giant of a man stands in front of the assembled crew. It's Patty's father, and he's very upset. Since he believes that his innocent daughter could be exposed to immorality and amorality, he reaches out without further ado and knocks down the next best with a punch.

The next morning, Patty, who has evidently remained modest and good, leaves Donald's apartment and returns to the roof of the skyscraper. There you make Donald a marriage proposal. They both meet another couple (William Holden and Maggie McNamara) who have obviously fared similarly.

Production notes

The film was shot in Hollywood (studio) and New York City (exterior shots) from January 1953 , the world premiere took place on June 19, 1953 in the Berlin Waldbühne as part of the Berlin International Film Festival . The Jungfrau on the Roof was shown in German cinemas on January 13, 1954 in Munich .

The Maiden on the Roof , for which Carl Zuckmayer wrote the German dialogues, is the first German version of an American film after the Second World War. A little later, starting with Rummelplatz der Liebe / Carnival Story , more should follow.

William Holden and Maggie McNamara have guest appearances as a young couple on the Empire State Building (final scene). Preminger filmed the material at the same time under the title The Moon Is Blue ( clouds are everywhere ) for the English-speaking audience. This film had David Niven in the Heesters role, while Holden and McNamara played the lovers. The other actors in the US version, Dawn Addams and Gregory Ratoff, played in both versions. While Tom Tully played the father in the US version, Siegfried Rumann , who was born in Hamburg, took on this role in the German version. He spoke his text in German (with a slightly American accent that has been used over three decades in the USA).

criticism

The Lexicon of International Film found: “Both versions caused offense in the 1950s. The German version is more conservative in terms of film and performance, and in the dialogue it is clumsier than the American version. "

The film's large lexicon of people was reminiscent of the thematic taboo breach that director Preminger consciously broke with the two versions of this film amusement game: “A central element of this comedy was - very shocking for the ultra-prudish America of the 50s - the protagonists' open discussion of topics like extramarital sex, virginity and pregnancy ”and wrote in the biography of Johannes Heesters:“ With the German version of 'The Moon is Blue', 'The Jungfrau auf dem Dach', Johannes Heesters received his first opportunity to make his film reputation as To satirize charmer and womanizer. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Virgin on the Roof in the Lexicon of International FilmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used , accessed on May 10, 2014
  2. Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 6: N - R. Mary Nolan - Meg Ryan. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 328.
  3. Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 3: F - H. Barry Fitzgerald - Ernst Hofbauer. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 609.