One of Us (1960)

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Movie
Original title One of us
Country of production GDR
original language German
Publishing year 1960
length 94 minutes
Rod
Director Helmut Spieß
script Gerhard Neumann
Hans-Albert Pederzani
production DEFA
music Hans-Dieter Hosalla
camera Otto Hanisch
cut Helga Emmrich
occupation

One of us is a German DEFA feature film by Helmut Spiess from 1960.

action

Lilly has finally found a job as a ticket seller on the fairground. When trying to sell her tickets, she ends up in the vicinity of the stand of the “strongest” men, one of whom wants to brutally expel her from the environment. But the wrestler Richard Bertram, who is just passing by with his friends from the workers' sports club, does not allow that and throws the supposedly strong hype wrestler to the ground. For the lottery booth owner, however, this is the reason to release Lilly immediately. This is how Lilly and Richard met.

With the rise of National Socialism , it is becoming more and more difficult for worker athletes to complete their training without being disturbed. Raids and disturbances by the SA are becoming more and more frequent. At that time, Lilly was already living with Richard. The former worker sportsman Erich Sens lets a right-wing entrepreneur buy him a job as a driver in order to leave his comrades. For Richard, however, the political development is an occasion to seek closer contact with the Communist Party of Germany than before . This decides to accommodate the athletes in civil associations in order to take advantage of the popularity of Richard, the multiple German champion, because the workers' sports clubs were pacified by dissolution. At the next championships, Richard Bertram is again the winner in his weight class, but refuses to give the required Hitler salute at the award ceremony . He is then banned from competing.

Hotte Janetzki is friends with the worker athletes. He is one of those who believe that you have to pay back the fascists in any case with the same coin. When Bertram's girlfriend is harassed by SA bandits, he lets himself be provoked and pulls a gun. He was arrested and only returned to Berlin after two years in a concentration camp . Here he tries to catch up with the comrades who work illegally. But it is not only his own will, he also has to carry out an order from the SS , which succeeded in breaking his resistance. First of all, he succeeds in betraying Alli Grunnert, who is already wanted on a wanted list, and who is then sent to a concentration camp.

The ban on Richard Bertram is lifted again by the National Socialists, as they think he has a chance of winning the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. He is instructed by the banned Communist Party to respond in order to pass material on the crimes of the fascists to foreign athletes. Hotte Janetzki notices that Richard is doing something forbidden together with Lilly and wants to report him to the Gestapo . He takes control of the wrestler and takes him there. On the way he discovered many documents from the crimes in the German concentration camps in the bag that was to be handed over to the foreigners. Reminiscent of his own torments, he realizes that the world needs to be informed of these atrocities and lets Richard go. In the Gestapo headquarters Janetzki tries to escape the threat of renewed torture and is shot from behind while running away.

When Alli Grunnert learns in the concentration camp that Hotte Janetzki is an informant, he flees to warn Richard about him. With the help of athletes from Estonia, they succeed in evading the Gestapo. Together they drive a borrowed motorcycle to an airfield, where a French aerobatic team is delaying their start as they are still waiting for Richard's intended documents. The French communist Catteau, whom they both know from joint competitions in the past, is sitting in one of these aircraft. After the documents have been handed over and Alli Grunert has boarded the plane, the relay can finally start.

production

One of us was shot in black and white and had its world premiere on April 29, 1960 in the Babylon cinema in Berlin . It was first broadcast on television on October 7, 1960 in the DFF .

The exterior shots were made a. in Berlin-Mitte on Linienstraße , Auguststraße , Tucholskystraße, Ackerstraße and Friedrichsgracht and in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg on Dänenstraße and Stargarder Straße. For indoor shots were u. a. the Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle and the Saalbau Friedrichshain are available.

The film was shot under the working title Werner Seelenbinder and the dramaturgy was in the hands of Hans Sasse .

criticism

In New Germany, Horst Knietzsch emphasized the consistently excellent achievements of the actors and the whole team and that the Berlin premiere audience received the film with joy.

HUE stated in the Berliner Zeitung that the film made a strong overall impression. The audience followed the action with concern and movement.

The lexicon of international film regards the film as mediocre entertainment with political motivation.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Neues Deutschland, May 13, 1960, p. 5
  2. ↑ Berliner Zeitung of May 5, 1960, p. 6
  3. ↑ One of us. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used