A handful of heroes
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | A handful of heroes |
| Country of production | Germany , Italy |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1967 |
| length | 93 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Fritz Umgelter |
| script | Werner P. Zibaso |
| production | Sergio Donati |
| music | Angelo Francesco Lavagnino |
| camera | Rolf Kästel |
| cut | Herbert Taschner |
| occupation | |
| |
A handful of heroes is the reproduction of the war film classic The Last Company from 1930 , which premiered on November 17, 1967 .
action
The plot is essentially the same as that of the first film. At the same time, the plot is strongly reminiscent of the story of the defense and the fall of the former Alamo mission station in Texas, Mexico in 1836.
After the devastating defeat of Jena by the French in 1806, the Prussian captain von Bruck received the order to occupy the Reinersdorf mill, which was on the only way through the swampy valley lowlands, with the few surviving soldiers from his hunter company as rearguard. Bruck is supposed to defend the mill until the last units have saved themselves over the Saale in the direction of Gera . Since this mission cannot be carried out with so few and partly wounded soldiers, Captain von Bruck demands reinforcements. For this, Bruck received the word of honor from the staff officer who gave the order.
Bruck collects more scattered soldiers: two hussars , two dragoons and the gunner Kurtz, who was captured for looting and chained in handcuffs . The group is joined by the young Angelika, who has been looking for her fallen fiancé on the deserted battlefield. The captain lets go. When he arrives at the mill, he declares it to be a battle zone, asks the millers and Angelika to get themselves and their belongings to safety before the battle, and orders the soldiers to convert the yard into a hill .
The staff officer is now bringing up a small reserve force, but falls with his soldiers in an attack by French cavalry . Angelika, who has already left the farm with the millers, observes this. She then rushes back to the mill and asks Captain von Brock to avoid further bloodshed and to give up in view of the hopeless situation. French cavalrymen exploring the path through the moor have now discovered the mill yard and the soldiers holed up there. Captain von Bruck now allows the soldiers to leave the hill if they would rather save their lives. The hunters Papke, a tailor's journeyman, and Hinnerk, a farmer's son, then give up and leave the troops, while the gunner Kuntz and the two dragoons secretly withdraw. Only two hussars and three hunters - Oberjäger Rückert, who had experience fighting poachers as a forester, Jäger Borgmann, a cunning student, and Fahnenjunker Olberg - remained in the position.
Hinnerk and Papke are discovered and shot by French soldiers on the run. Kurtz and the two dragoons go back to the battlefield on their own, where French loot squads have meanwhile arrived. They recover an abandoned cannon and bring it back to the mill for reinforcement. Captain von Bruck then removes the gunner's chains and promises him that he will work for his relief because of his bravery.
The French commander has since learned from his cavalrymen about the mill and the bridge across the Saale. He then orders his regiment to take the base, advance to the bridge across the Saale, and cut off the retreat route for the fleeing Prussian army . The French advance first with infantrymen , then with guns and finally with grenadiers .
While the defeated army crosses the last bridge over the Saale in the distance, the Prussian soldiers repel attack after attack under dramatic circumstances, but ultimately succumb to the superior strength of the French.
When they finally took the farm, they found Angelika as the only survivor. Captain von Bruck and his soldiers fell, but by defending the mill they held up the French for so long that the Prussian troops were able to escape across the Saale.
criticism
- "Dramatic episode in historical German uniforms from the time of the Napoleonic wars."
- "The war as a rather happy adventure." ( Film-dienst )
- "Fritz Umgelter's European production 'A Handful of Heroes' was an exception to the cliché in 1967: Frank played convincingly [...] a Prussian captain in the fight against Napoleon, who brings heroism and sensitivity to a common denominator."
- The Protestant Film Observer doesn't think much of the film. He complains that the director could not choose a uniform style. So only a costume film with some echoes of the adventure genre came about.
Remarks
The film was shot largely in Hungary .
Web links
- A handful of heroes in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- A handful of heroes at cinema.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ kino.web.de
- ↑ A handful of heroes. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ steffi-line.de
- ↑ Evangelical Press Association Munich, Review No. 537/1967