A woman of no importance (1936)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
Original title A woman of no importance
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1936
length 79 minutes
Age rating FSK 12 f
Rod
Director Hans Steinhoff
script Thea by Harbou
Bernd Hofmann
production Helmut Eweler
Franz Tapper
music Clemens Schmalstich
camera Ewald Daub
cut Martha Dübber
occupation

A Woman Without Meaning is a German film drama from 1936 directed by Hans Steinhoff . The leading roles are occupied by Gustaf Gründgens and Käthe Dorsch as well as Friedrich Kayssler , Hans Leibelt , Marianne Hoppe and Albert Lieven . The film is based on the stage work of the same name by Oscar Wilde , original title: A Woman of no Importance .

action

End of the 19th century, English country residence Hunstanton Chase: Sylvia Kelvil, the daughter of the strict priest Kelvil, works as a reader for Lady Patricia. There she met George Harford-Illingworth, Lady Patricia's nephew, and fell in love with the young man. He also reciprocates her feelings, but is sent to India by his father, who wants to prevent a relationship because of the difference in class. Previously there was a bitter argument between father and son, in which the old lord insisted that his son could not bind himself to a woman without any meaning. Sylvia is deeply disappointed in the demeanor of the man she is expecting a child from. When old Illingworth offers her money, she indignantly refuses. Since the young woman cannot expect any help from her father, who is relentlessly concerned with order and discipline, she raises her son Gerald all by herself.

Almost twenty years later, George returns from India as heir to his father, who has since passed away. It is being said that he is very lucky with women and that he has also built a huge hydropower plant in India. When he is visiting Lord and Lady Hunstanton, he gets to know Gerald without first knowing that his son is facing him. Gerald is engaged to Hunstanton's niece, Hester. The two men hit it off right away and Gerald is very impressed when George suggests that he go to India with him. Later, however, there is a misunderstanding between the two when Gerald draws wrong conclusions when he sees George and Hester in a friendly embrace and then provokes the older man. A duel now seems inevitable. Sylvia sees only one way out, she confesses to her son that George is his father, which first throws the young man off course. When he locks himself in his room and even Hester doesn't open, Sylvia seeks advice from George. He breaks the door open and makes his son think about the stupidity he was trying to do with the revolver. Gerald calms down and makes a decision, he neither wants to go to India, as planned and hoped by his father, nor does he want to stay with his mother. He wants to build his own independent life with Hester, the woman he loves. George and Sylvia part in friendship.

Production notes and background

The shooting took place in August / September 1936 in the area around Berlin and in the Tobis studio in Berlin-Johannisthal and in the Jofa studio in Berlin-Johannisthal. It is a Hans Steinhoff film from Majestic-Film, world sales: Tobis-Cinema-Film AG, distributed by Tobis Europa Film AG. The responsible film production manager was Bruno Lopinski . The film constructions came from Hans Sohnle and Otto Erdmann .

The film premiered on October 26, 1936 in the Capitol in Berlin . It was first broadcast in the GDR on September 26, 1960 on DFF 1.

A woman of no importance was originally 2,222 meters long, which corresponds to 81 minutes, the tested version was 2,168 meters long, which corresponds to 79 minutes. In an examination on October 22nd (B.43754), the censors issued a ban on young people. After the film was checked again on April 11, 1951 (02705) and unrestrictedly approved, the verdict in an FSK test (02705) on January 18, 1984 was “approved for ages 12 and over” with the note “no public holidays”.

When the film was made, Gustaf Gründgens, who was 37 at the time, and Marianne Hoppe, then 25, were a married couple. The couple married on June 19, 1936.

criticism

The lexicon of international films found: "Oscar Wilde's elegant, socially critical conversational drama may have an aftertaste of bourgeois churn in the German film version, but thanks to the excellent cast it knows how to entertain intelligently."

Karlheinz Wendtland came to the conclusion that the film was “much more lively” than the stage play. The film “puts the processes back into the light of what is universally valid in humans. The scene in which Lord Illingworth calls his son Gerald to duty to his mother, to himself and to life [e] is very impressive. "Wendtland said about Gründgens' part that he did" his part in the dialogues excellently ". Wendtland explained about the personification of Hester by Marianne Hoppe: "The happy, boyish and comradely girl Hester contributes to the subtle play." All the main actors came from the theater and fitted themselves perfectly into the medium of film. Only Käthe Dorsch seemed difficult to jump over her theatrical shadow. "

Wendtland also commented on the accusation that with this film Hans Steinhoff had "reviled the decadent England" by finding that this criticism did not reach "the right addressee", because that had "already been done by the English author Oscar Wilde himself".

Award

In 1936 the film received the rating "artistically valuable".

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Karlheinz Wendtland: Beloved Kintopp. All German feature films from 1929–1945 with numerous artist biographies born in 1935 and 1936, Verlag Medium Film Karlheinz Wendtland, Berlin, first and second edition 1987, third completely revised and expanded edition 1989, film 106/1936, p. 258. ISBN 3- 926945-08-7
  2. ↑ A woman of no importance. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used