The laugh bomb
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The laugh bomb |
| Original title | Knock on Wood |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1954 |
| length | 103 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Melvin Frank , Norman Panama |
| script | Melvin Frank, Norman Panama |
| production | Melvin Frank, Norman Panama for Paramount Pictures |
| music | Sylvia Fine |
| camera | Daniel L. Fapp |
| cut | Alma Macrorie |
| occupation | |
| |
The laugh bomb (original title: Knock on Wood ) is an American comedy film by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama from 1954 with Danny Kaye and Mai Zetterling in the lead roles. The film is a loose parody of the ventriloquist episode of the horror film Dead of Night (Dead of Night) of the 1945th
Melvin Frank and Norman Panama shot the film The Court Jester a year later , again with Danny Kaye in the lead role.
action
The successful American ventriloquist Jerry Morgan with his two wooden dolls "Terrance" and "Clarence" has a psychological problem: Whenever he falls in love with a woman, his dolls, which then seem to have a life of their own, interfere and insult the woman so that she separates from him. This happened to him again on a European tour in Paris and his manager urgently advised him to seek psychological treatment. He has already arranged an appointment with a specialist, Doctor Krüger, in Zurich, where Jerry is to fly that evening. Before that, however, he has to have his dolls repaired quickly by the Parisian doll maker Papinek, because he has damaged them badly out of anger over their “in between”.
At the same time, Brodnik, who was part of a spy ring in Paris, stole from NATO the two-sided secret blueprint for a new type of nuclear weapon, the “Lafayette XV 27”. The dollmaker Papinek, who also belongs to the spy ring and knows about Jerry's flight to Zurich, hides the plans without Jerry's knowledge in the dolls left for repair, a page in each doll, in order to smuggle them out of the country. The spy Gromek is supposed to contact Jerry in Switzerland and receive them.
In Zurich, Gromek tries to identify himself to Jerry, initially not realizing that Jerry does not know anything about him or the hidden plans. He speaks to Jerry several times behind closed doors with "Gromek!", Which the latter finally takes for the Swiss term for "Thank you" and will soon add to his vocabulary. When Gromek finally realizes that Jerry does not know anything about the plans, he steals one page from one of the dolls in Jerry's hotel room, while Jerry and the other doll are on the way to his appointment with Doctor Kruger. Gromek does not know anything about the second page and thinks his mission has been fulfilled.
When Jerry consults with Doctor Krüger, he first examines him and then sends his colleague Dr. Ilse Nordstrom with Jerry on the trip to London, where he will have his next appearance in a few days as part of his tour. Over time, Jerry falls in love with his psychiatrist .
Meanwhile, another villain, Godfrey Langston, outwardly a stylish British gentleman, has learned of the stolen plans and wants to hunt them down from the spy ring or Jerry in order to sell them to the highest bidder. In addition, he contacts Jerry in Zurich without obligation and lets him, his manager and Dr. Nordstrom to fly to London in his charter plane. While on the plane, Langston's secretary stole the remaining second page from Jerry's luggage with the dolls, for his part, like Langston, not knowing about the first page.
In London, events roll over. When the spy ring and Langston attempt to sell their respective side of the plan to prospects, it becomes clear to both sides that they are each missing the other side of the plan. While trying to get them from Jerry hotel rooms at the same time, the spies murder each other. When Jerry discovers the dead in his room, he is initially mistaken for the murderer and flees. He gets into involuntarily funny situations, among other things as an Irishman "disguised" in an Irish pub , as an American now speaking with an Irish accent, later as a car salesman, speaking with an English accent, always to be credible, and as an unskilled ballet dancer.
In the end, the police finally believe him he is innocent and Langston is taken away. Jerry marries Ilse and goes to the happy ending with her .
criticism
"Spy film parody tailored entirely to Danny Kaye with a grotesque atmosphere that is not afraid of macabre gags."
Awards
The film was nominated for the following awards in 1955, but couldn't win any of them:
- at the Oscars in the "Best Original Screenplay" category
- for the Directors Guild of America Award in the category Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures ("Outstanding Directing Achievement in Feature Films")
- for the Writers Guild of America Award in the category Best Written American Comedy (" Best Written American Comedy ")
Home video publications
A German version of Die Lachbombe is available on DVD .
Web links
- The laughter bomb in the Internet Movie Database (English)