Cruiser Emden
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Cruiser Emden |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1932 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Louis Ralph |
| script |
Alfred Halm Louis Ralph |
| production | Emelka, Munich |
| music | Friedrich Jung |
| camera |
Franz Koch Josef Wirsching |
| occupation | |
as "Emden" officers:
as "Emden" sailors: | |
Kreuzer Emden is a German feature film from 1932 by and with Louis Ralph in the leading role.
action
First world war . Mertens, who works as an administrator at the Deutsche Elektrizitätsgesellschaft, is called up as a reservist and appointed as chief mate. Shortly before, he and his bride Grete marry hastily. A wedding party is being held in a hotel, at which the rather drunk sailor Petzold, once Grete's fiancé, attracts attention. Both Petzold and Mertens are supposed to do their duty on the cruiser " Emden ". The ship sails under the command of the experienced captain von Müller, heading for Southeast Asia. On the way to southern climes, the "Emden" first joins Count Spee's squadron. Soon, however, Müller received the order to go on a pirate voyage independently with the tender ship “Markomania”. As part of this directive, the “Emden” sinks several British merchant ships and the English troop carrier “Indus” in the Indian Ocean. An order finally takes the cruiser to a port in Penang (Malaysia), where the Russian cruiser "Shenmschuk" is at anchor. This ship, too, was sunk by the "Emden" on October 28, 1914.
Captain von Müller is aware that his lucky streak will not last forever. The British radio station "Keeling Island" on the Cocos Islands , over which all British radio traffic between London and the Far East runs, is particularly dangerous . This relay station was destroyed on November 9, 1914, but shortly before the enemy was able to send a message to the Australian cruiser "Sydney". A battle ensues in which the better equipped “Sydney” largely destroys the “Emden” after initial misses. Mertens is seriously injured. Before he dies, he can reconcile with his old adversary Petzold and makes him promise to take care of his wife Grete at home. A little later, however, Petzold also dies in the tumult of battle. In view of the hopeless situation, Captain von Müller decides to give up the ship and wants to set the "Emden" aground. He takes down the cruiser's war flag and burns it so that it does not fall into the hands of the enemy. The Australians rescue the surviving German castaways and bring them on board the "Sydney". By order of the English ship commander, the men are allowed to keep their weapons and are treated with honor.
Production notes
Kreuzer Emden was made using numerous recordings from Louis Ralph's 1926 silent film "Our Emden" from March 14, 1932. On May 8, 1932, the cut version was available. The film was shot in the Emelka Studios in Geiselgasteig (near Munich). The film had ten acts and was 2,674 meters long. The censors released him on May 18, 1932 for the youth. The premiere took place on May 20, 1932 in Munich's Phoebus Palast. In Berlin, cruiser Emden could be seen in the Titania Palace and in the Primus Palace on the same day .
The buildings for the sound film come from the hands of Willy Reiber . His younger brother Ludwig Reiber and colleague Botho Höfer were responsible for the decorations of Ralph's silent film version from 1926, which can also be seen here. Walter Tjaden set the tone. Composer Friedrich Jung was also the musical director. A piece of music was played: the sailor song "A girl never says 'no' to blue boys".
The then star director Helmut Käutner , who worked exclusively as an actor (cabaret artist) at the time, made his film debut here alongside his colleagues Bobby Todd , Kurd E. Heyne and Frank Norbert from the cabaret The Four News .
A third version of this material tinted by the National Socialists was brought to the cinemas by Louis Ralph in 1934 with heroism and agony in our Emden .
Historical background
The Emden was a small cruiser of the Imperial Navy Wilhelm II. Its operational area was mainly in the Far East . With the beginning of the First World War , the Emden was sent to the Indian Ocean to spark a trade war against enemy ships . There she sank or brought up 23 enemy merchant ships and two warships within two months. On November 9, 1914, she was defeated in a battle with the Australian cruiser Sydney near the Cocos Islands . A total of 136 Emden drivers were killed in this battle, the survivors were taken prisoner of war.
Reviews
“The film 'Kreuzer Emden' (director: Louis Ralph) was shot several years ago as a silent film (1926), which in the form of a reconstructive report depicts the world-historical voyages of the cruiser 'Emden' from its departure in Kiel to the yellow waters to about his sinking off Keeling Island. The advanced sound film technology makes it possible today to make sound recordings on water and on land, above the earth and below sea level. That is why they felt compelled to freshen up the silent journey of the 'Emden' in terms of sound film technology, deliberately doing without any decoration, any artistic heightening or construction of dramatic events. The aim was to set up a film memorial to the heroes of our 'Emden', in which the deeds were carefully and objectively reconstructed. The film serves as a reminder. It wants to be a serious, beautiful and, despite all the tragedy, proud document of fame that stood over the German flag, wherever it flew during the war ... "
Paimann's film lists summed up: “Despite conveying the reality of the war, less vivid as a result of the more economical use of situation sketches and the lack of interim texts. Commands included in the dialogue, tiring in their monotonous repetition, are less suitable for explaining the combat actions unequivocally, especially with the scarcely sufficient differentiation of nationalities at the end. Individual fates are only dealt with in short, animated episodes. Mostly natural, informal presentation, effective background noise, suitable music. (...) A decidedly patriotic, if not tendentiously adjusted cultural film. "
"Louis Ralph's war film, in which he himself plays the captain of the 'Emden' and uses dubbed recordings from his silent film 'Our Emden' from 1926, sings a song of praise to German soldiers who fought against the British and Russians in the First World War."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sound film recordings. The silent scenes from 1926 were photographed by Ewald Daub, Werner Bohne, Arthur von Schwertführer and again Wirsching
- ↑ Kreuzer Emden in Paimann's film lists ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
