Kora Terry
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Kora Terry |
 | |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1940 |
| length | 109 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Georg Jacoby |
| script | Walter Wassermann , CH Diller based on the novel Kora Terry - The novel by an artist by Hans-Caspar von Zobeltitz |
| production | Max Pfeiffer for Ufa |
| music | Frank Fox , Peter Kreuder |
| camera | Konstantin Irmen-Tschet |
| cut | Erich Kobler |
| occupation | |
| |
Kora Terry is a German film by Georg Jacoby from 1940 and the film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Hans-Caspar von Zobeltitz , which was released the previous year.
action
When Bartos, the director of the Odeon vaudeville stage , canceled an artist at short notice, he hired the Terrys out of necessity, whose parents were successful vaudeville artists but who had not yet been hired. Both are supported by Tobs, a friend of the parents. While the blonde Mara Terry appears punctually for the first rehearsal, her dark-haired sister Kora arrives too late like a diva and is aloof and snappy. When they first perform together the next day, Kora is overtired because she was at parties the night before. During a dangerous act in which she has to balance her upside down sister on her head, she becomes careless. Mara falls and pulls a severe tendon strain so that it cannot recur. From now on Kora appears alone and begins a relationship with the conductor Michael Varany because he is supposed to write songs for her. Varany used to be a gifted violin virtuoso before he had many affairs and so was relegated to the piano-playing Kapellmeister. Kora Terry also starts an affair with the industrialist Borodin. When he told her one evening that he hadn't bought a valuable ring she wanted, she stole a technical drawing in revenge. Although Borodin was just joking and giving her the ring, Kora forgets to return the drawing. When Kora Terry receives an engagement at the Ambassador in Africa , she persuades Michael to take a ride, who terminates his engagement at the Odeon. Kora then drops him and prevents him from getting a contract with the Ambassador. Shortly before departure, the Mara on board promises to stay in contact with Michael Varany. She also wants to look after Kora's little daughter Ilonka, who is housed in a Luisenstift because Kora has no time for the child, from Africa.
Both sisters work alone in Africa. Kora Terry appears as the star at the Ambassador, where she performs half-naked "veil dances" with snakes. Mara is employed as a solo dancer and singer in a small bar , where she has to defend herself against intrusive guests. In the casino in Africa, Kora Terry meets the seedy Vopescu and encourages her to gamble. When she becomes addicted to gambling , Vopescu reveals that he wants to recruit her as a spy . She rejects Vopescu's proposal, but he tells her that she is already wanted by an arrest warrant for the stolen drawing. Since she is heavily in debt and her sister does not want to lend her any money, she is ready to hand over the drawing to Vopescu. When she is about to leave her room with the drawing, Mara Terry shoots Kora. When Kora falls from the stairs, she breaks her neck and dies. Mara takes on the identity of her successful sister in order to be able to provide for Ilonka financially and henceforth appears as "Kora Terry". Tobs takes the blame for the death of the real kora. He is sentenced to five years of forced labor for bodily harm resulting in death to "Mara Terry".
In the following years Mara celebrated success under the name "Kora Terry" in the USA and finally came to Rome for a guest performance. Michael Varany also appears here. After his resignation, he found his way back to playing the violin at the Odeon and was immediately accepted into the master class at a university. He refused an engagement at the Odeon and now plays as solo violinist at the final concert of the master class. After his performance, he found out from the newspaper about Mara's guest performance, which he believed to be Kora Terry. Amazed, he sees a seemingly changed kora on stage and makes an appointment with her. Meanwhile, Mara is blackmailed by Vopescu. When she does not respond to his demands, he reports her to the police for espionage. When Mara receives a message that Ilonka is seriously ill, she leaves hastily and is arrested by the waiting police in the children's home. Meanwhile, Tobs, who was released prematurely from prison after three years, appears in Rome and tells Michael Varany about the true identity of "Koras". During the subsequent trial of Mara Terry, no one believes that she and her sister Kora are dead. Tobs' statement does not convince the court either. Only a doctor can confirm Mara's identity: When she fell on the stage, Mara injured her ankle so badly that even years later, traces of the injury are visible on the X-ray , and the traces also match the X-ray that was taken shortly after the injury. Mara is rehabilitated and can finally confess her love to Michael Varany.
production
The shooting of Kora Terry began on March 27, 1940 in the Babelsberg film studio and ended in July of the same year.
For Marika Rökk, Kora Terry was “the breakthrough to the top star of German music film”. In the double role of Kora and Mara Terry, who were completely opposite characters, she was able to show her acting versatility, which at the time of shooting was still in doubt. Her husband Georg Jacoby, who directed the film, defended his wife from critics: “I know my wife. She is a naive child and a great erotic woman, she has these contrary traits. ” Joseph Goebbels also opposed the film because he generally rejected double roles as“ nonsense ”and instead demanded a double for Marika Rökk. The film was shot with the double role and only used a double for a few scenes. Peter Kreuder, the composer of the film, said that a woman was taken from a concentration camp as a double , but she was not sent back to the camp after the shooting ended.
According to Marika Rökk, Goebbels withheld the film for six months after the end of shooting, thereby “avenging” the double that was demanded but not used. Only when there was “a failure with a propaganda smack” did he finally approve the film. The premiere of the film took place on November 27, 1940 in the Berlin Capitol . On November 29th, he received the rating “youth ban / not holiday-free” from the censors.
Songs
While Frank Fux wrote the “melodic illustration music” for the film, Peter Kreuder created “some sparkling hits” for the film, which became known beyond the film itself. Günther Schwenn wrote the lyrics , all songs were sung by Marika Rökk.
- When spring comes - Hungarian song
- For a blissful night - foxtrot
- Why should I be faithful
- Everything passes in life
Propagandist tendencies
Kora Terry presents two different types of women to the audience: The dark-haired Kora is presented as unreliable, superficial, arrogant, selfish and inconsiderate. She drinks and flirts with men indiscriminately, gambled away her money and did not care for her child. At the same time she is presented as shameless and revealing and - shown symbolically in the snake dance - as a dangerous seductress. She sings her songs in an energetic and emotionless voice. Opposite her, the blonde Mara appears to be an ideal woman in the sense of National Socialist propaganda. She is reserved and shy, she sings her songs with an “angelic voice”, she wears “modest” clothes, longs for a family and lovingly takes care of her niece. While Kora is dominant towards men, Mara is the weaker one who needs the protection of men. Kora Terry can be described as an entertainment film with propagandistic tendencies due to the emphasis on the Nazi image of women , in relation to the positive emphasis, among other things, on motherhood, willingness to make sacrifices and Mara Terry's ability to suffer.
Reviews
Kora Terry was particularly praised by contemporary critics for his dance scenes and the equipment: “Georg Jacoby unleashes a rich imagination as a director in the lavish revue interludes. The choreographic direction of Sabine Reß, the participation of the outstanding dancer Jockel Stahl and above all, of course, the solos of Marika Rökk give the film an exciting and colorful color. ”Marika Rökk's snake dance was particularly emphasized. The “psychologically by no means always convincing” plot of the film, in which the “fairy good” and the “terribly superficial…” sister face each other, was criticized.
Kora Terry called Reclam's Lexicon of German Films a “convincing revue film ... with serious nuances” , while the Lexicon of International Films described the work as a “ Kolportagoman with revue elements”.
See also
literature
- HJW .: First day of shooting at “Kora Terry” . In: Filmwelt, No. 16, April 19, 1940, p. 12.
- HOF: rhythm and intoxication of dance. "Kora Terry" - A dancer's film . In: Filmwelt, No. 49, December 6, 1940, pp. 12-13.
- H.-E. Fischer: Films we saw: "Kora Terry" . In: Filmwelt, No. 50, December 13, 1940, p. 22.
- Marika Rökk: Heart with paprika. Memories . Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main 1991, pp. 140-142.
- Jo Fox: Filming women in the Third Reich . Berg, Oxford 2000, pp. 124-132.
Web links
- Kora Terry in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Reclam's Lexicon of German Films , p. 182.
- ↑ a b Marika Rökk: Heart with Paprika , p. 140.
- ↑ a b Fox, p. 125.
- ↑ Heart with Paprika , p. 141.
- ↑ a b c d H.-E. Fischer: Films we saw: "Kora Terry" . In: Filmwelt , No. 50, Berlin, December 13, 1940, p. 22.
- ↑ Fox describes her as "the 'good' Germanic woman" in contrast to Kora as "epitome of the 'bad' woman". Fox, pp. 130f.
- ↑ Fox, p. 130.
- ^ HOF: rhythm and intoxication of dance. "Kora Terry" - A dancer's film . In: Filmwelt, No. 49, December 6, 1940, p. 13.
- ^ Lexicon of International Films . Volume 4. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1990, p. 2097.