Queen of the arena
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Queen of the arena |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1952 |
| length | 81 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Rolf Meyer |
| script |
Kurt E. Walter Rolf Meyer |
| production | Corona-Filmproduktion GmbH, Hamburg ( Alexander Grüter ) |
| music | Michael Jary |
| camera | Igor Oberberg |
| cut | Hermann Leitner |
| occupation | |
| |
Queen of the Arena is a German feature film by director Rolf Meyer from 1952 in black and white. The leading roles are cast with Maria Litto , Hans Söhnker , Jan Hendriks and Grethe Weiser . The script was written by Kurt E. Walter and the director. It is very loosely based on the 1928 novel "Wanda" by Gerhart Hauptmann . In Germany, the film first hit cinemas on December 19, 1952.
action
During a circus performance in Sorrento , the sculptor Gerhart Mahnke and his factotum Fritz Zwickel get to know the poor artist couple Margarita and Tonio. After the two separated in an argument, Mahnke offers Margarita the option of living with him free of charge. Several days later Margarita drives into town with Zwickel. You will pass the small traveling circus "Caselli". As if driven by a secret power, Margarita enters the tent and suddenly stands in front of her former partner Tonio. After he has shown her his new tricks, Margarita is drawn to the arena , where she dances and vaults . Zwickel tries in vain to persuade the girl to return home. The director Caselli makes it clear to him that Margarita's true home can only be in the circus.
Margaritas and Tonio's performances get better and better with each guest appearance, until one day the young woman makes a fatal mistake. Then Margarita is abruptly reprimanded by her partner. Mahnke, who is among the spectators, steps between the arguing. Tonio manages to make the sculptor look ridiculous in front of the audience, whereupon the latter takes flight. Margarita wants to run after him, but can no longer reach him.
Tonio and Margarita try to get an engagement with the big circus "Harvey". But only Tonio is successful. He benefits from the fact that the leopard tamer's partner was injured by an animal. So he steps in for him. Margarita turns away from Tonio jealously.
Mahnke is back in Germany and is pursuing his professorship at the art academy. To his surprise, Margarita stands at his door one day and wants to serve as a model for him. Mahnke, who has longed for classy beauty, is beaming with happiness. At a carnival ball in the academy, Margarita is the focus and enchants the audience with her dances. Suddenly a masked man snatches the girl and carries her outside. There the masked man reveals himself as Tonio. In the meantime he has risen to the position of artistic director at “Harvey” and is now hiring his former partner. Margarita works obsessively on her new number, the "Queen of the Arena".
The gala performance ends with a sensational success. Mahnke, who sits in the audience, now has to realize that Margarita does not fit into his bourgeois world, but is and remains a child of the circus.
Production notes
Queen of the Arena was created in the Atelier Hamburg-Bendestorf , in Bendestorf and in Sorrento, Italy . Franz Schroedter was responsible for the furnishings and the buildings . Paul Seltenhammer was the costume designer and Herbert Sennewald was the production manager .
music
The strip is not only a circus film, but also a revue film. That's why music plays a big role in it. In addition to a sizeable cast of vocal stars who were very well known at the time, the following groups can also be heard: the Sunshine Quartet and the Cornel Trio . Erwin Bredow , Helmuth Ketels , Michael Piel and Jockel Stahl dance . The choreography is by Jens Keith .
The following hits by Michael Jary (music) and Bruno Balz (text) can be heard in the film :
- A person like you and me (clown song)
- What does a cowboy understand by love? (Foxtrot)
- Love wants to wander ... (Slow Waltz)
- A woman like you is not forgotten (Tango)
- Manhattan boogie
The FFB orchestra plays, partly under the direction of the composer and partly under the direction of Helmut Zacharias .
criticism
- The lexicon of international films has a bad opinion of the film : "Incredible, boring and artistically inadequate."
- In the opinion of the film papers , the traveling circus milieu is represented “mainly by Grethe Weiser with artificial giant snake jokes”, while Maria Litto, who mainly has to dance, does not really get the chance to act.
source
Program for the film: Das Neue Film-Programm , published by H. Klemmer & Co., Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, without a number
Web links
- Queen of the Arena in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Queen of the arena at filmportal.de