I am the master of the house

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Movie
German title I am the master of the house
Original title Hobson's Choice
Country of production Great Britain
original language English
Publishing year 1954
length 107 minutes
Rod
Director David Lean
script Wynyard Browne
David Lean
Norman Spencer
production David Lean
music Malcolm Arnold
camera Jack Hildyard
cut Peter Taylor
occupation

I am the master of the house , sometimes I am the master of the house (Original title: Hobson's Choice ), is a British feature film by David Lean from 1954 . The main role in the film is played by Charles Laughton . It is based on the stage comedy Herr im Haus bin ich (Original title: Hobson's choice ) by Harold Brighouse from 1915.

action

England at the end of Queen Victoria’s era . The hero of the film is the successful shoemaker Henry Horatio Hobson, a widower and father of three daughters. The three daughters run the shoe shop and run the household of father Henry, who prefers to spend the time in his local pub. But sometimes he's the master of the house. So he decides that the two youngest daughters Alice and Vicky, who are also the prettiest at the same time, should marry a man of his choice without a dowry, while Maggie, who is already over 30 years old, should run the household and the business for him. On her way, Maggie prefers to see herself with Willie Mossop, a shoemaker who is employed in the shop and whose craftsmanship also makes a significant contribution to the success of the business.

Willie is a simple fellow. He has nothing but his trade. Maggie tells Willie that she wants to marry him and run a business with him. Willie is perplexed. But he still has a problem. He is promised to the daughter of his landlady. Maggie goes to this landlady, informs her of her plans and gives up the room, at the same time finding Willie a new place to stay.

An argument breaks out and Maggie decides to start a new business with Willie. They borrow money from Mrs. Hepworth, a wealthy customer who knows how good Willie is at his trade.

The night before the wedding, Hobson falls into a cellar and is reported - worried about his reputation, he wants to consult with Maggie. Maggie solves the case so that her sisters can marry their friends and receive a dowry. In return, the charges are dropped.

Henry Hobson is shocked and upset about the new development. Not only is his daughter, who is always caring for him, out of the house, the remaining daughters are also not able to run the business and the household at the same time. You can't even cook. Hobson suffers and begins to drink more heavily than before. Willie takes reading and writing lessons from Maggie and is trained to be a presentable gentleman.

Maggie and Willie's business becomes a huge success. After just six months you are able to repay your debts. Henry Hobson, on the other hand, became more and more drunk until the doctor ordered him to abstain completely. Maggie consults with her siblings; but since the two younger ones are now married themselves, neither of them wants to take care of their father. Willie now offers Hobson the partnership to save his bad business and Maggie will help out with the household. Willie explains to him that he already has all of his old customers anyway and wants to take over the business under the Mossop and Hobson name as long as Hobson is a silent partner. Even Maggie is surprised by this business acumen, but Hobson finally agrees.

background

The Vierakter Hobson's Choice by Harold Brighouse from the year 1915 was previously on two occasions, in 1920 and 1931 , made into a film. Alexander Korda gave David Lean the idea to film the play again and brought along Charles Laughton as the leading actor, with whom he had made his most successful films in the 1930s . Laughton was already familiar with the play, having played Willie Mossop himself on stage 30 years earlier. In the film version, Robert Donat was originally intended for this part , but John Mills replaced him brilliantly. Mill's most notable scene in the film is his pantomime in preparation for his wedding night.

German version

The German dubbing was created in 1954 in the studios of Deutsche London Film GmbH in Hamburg under the direction of Edgar Flatau . Martin Beheim-Schwarzbach wrote the dubbing book . Friedrich Albrecht was responsible for the sound engineering, the editing was in the hands of Waltraud Feig.

role actor Voice actor
Henry Horatio Hobson Charles Laughton Eduard Wandrey
Willie Mossop John Mills Wolfgang Wahl
Maggie Hobson Brenda de Banzie Margret Neuhaus
Alice Hobson Daphne Anderson Gisela Peltzer
Vicky Hobson Prunella Scales Ingeborg Walther
Albert Prosser Richard Wattis Herbert Asmis
Freddy Beenstock Derek Blomfield Wolfgang Borchert
Mrs. Hepworth Helen Haye Eva Eras
Jim Heeler Joseph Tomelty Hans Fitze
host Julien Mitchell Helmut Peine
Tudsbury Gibb McLaughlin Joseph Offenbach
The tone Philip Stainton Carl Voscherau
doctor John Laurie Walter Klam
Tubby Jack Haworth Kurt Klopsch

Reviews

  • "An enjoyable family and small-town comedy that uses philanthropy and humor to draw loving pictures of idiosyncratic characters who reveal themselves in the struggle for domestic power. By no means a star film for Charles Laughton, who fits into the outstanding ensemble with his acting skills." - " Lexicon of International Films "
  • "David Lean's 1915 adaptation of a play by Ronald Brighouse is the third in this story and at the same time the best (...) Charles Laughton's hilarious, if somewhat exaggerated, portrayal of Henry Hobson is the linchpin of this enjoyable film, Lean since " Geisterkomödie " gave the opportunity to stage a comedy for the first time. The cast, photography and equipment as well as Malcolm Arnold's original music are consistently top class and result in an all-round successful work - which is rather astonishing given the circumstances in which it was created. " - -al- in: The great TV feature film film lexicon . Digital library special volume (CD-ROM edition). Directmedia, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89853-036-1 , pp. 5686-5687

The Wiesbaden film evaluation agency awarded the production the title valuable .

Awards

Lord of the house I won the Golden Bear at the 1954 Berlinale . The audience at the Berlinale voted in favor of this film: Award winner. The film also received the British Film Academy Award in 1955 : best British film of the year.

literature

  • Harold Brighouse : I am the master of the house. Comedy in four acts. (Original title: Hobson's choice ). German by Michael Koch. Distribution and publishing house of German stage writers and stage composers, Norderstedt around 1997 [Reproduced as an unsaleable manuscript.]

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ I am the master of the house , Illustrierte Film-Bühne No. 2409, Munich undated
  2. ↑ I am the master of the house. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used