Predatory fishermen in Hellas (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Predatory fishermen in Hellas |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1959 |
| length | 105 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Horst Hächler |
| script |
Jeffrey Dell Jo Eisinger based on the novel of the same name by Werner Helwig |
| production | Carl Szokoll for Tele Film GmbH, Munich |
| music | Friedrich Meyer |
| camera | Kurt Hasse |
| cut | Arndt Heyne |
| occupation | |
| |
Raubfischer in Hellas is a German feature film from 1959 with Maria Schell , Cliff Robertson and Cameron Mitchell in the leading roles. Maria Schell's husband at the time, Horst Hächler, directed .
action
After his bitter experiences during the Second World War on the Greek east coast, the young sailor Clements wants to start a new life as a sponge fisherman in the Aegean . But there is a tough fight for survival between the net fishermen in Kalymnos, honorable men, and the not squeamish and in their fishing methods rather unscrupulous predatory fishermen from Kuluri. Soon Clements finds himself between the fronts of the rival fishing groups.
The disfigured leader of the predatory fishermen, Psarathanas, who practices his craft with dynamite sticks, leads a strict regime against his gang members. His lover Mana doesn't have much to laugh about either. She has been trying to get rid of him for some time. In the sincere Clements she finally sees her chance. She steals all of his savings and goes underground.
When Clements then joins the honest fishermen with the classic net fishing methods, the situation escalates. Soon the rivalry between the two fishing groups intensifies, the fight for the best catch becomes merciless and demands the first victim. Mana gets to know Clements better and eventually falls in love with him. She then decides to give him his money back. The young fortune decides to leave the area and dare to start again elsewhere. But Psarathanas learns of the planned escape and confronts his rival. In a duel, Clements kills the villainous opponent. While trying to save his friend Captain Stassi, Clements goes down with his boat in the troubled sea. Mana is left alone on her island.
Production notes
The film Raubfischer in Hellas , produced by Tele-Film GmbH Munich and produced in collaboration with Dubrabva Film (Zagreb) and Michael Arthur Film Production (Hollywood), is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Werner Helwig . It was shot from May to August 1959 on the Adriatic Sea and on the island of Mana off the Dalmatian coast . The world premiere was on November 5, 1959 in Vienna, the German premiere on November 10, 1959 in Frankfurt am Main . In the United States, the film ran in 1961 under the title As the Sea Rages .
The buildings come from the hands of Otto Pischinger and Herta Hareiter ; the latter also designed the costumes. Walter Ulbrich adapted the novel for the film, which was eventually formed into a script by the Briton Jeffrey Dell and the American Jo Eisinger . Klaus Werner served chief cinematographer Kurt Hasse as his assistant. Ernst Hofbauer and Wolfgang Kühnlenz worked as assistant directors to Horst Hächler.
As Der Spiegel reported in its August 12, 1959 issue of the shooting, there were all sorts of difficulties with the two Hollywood mimes Cliff Robertson and Cameron Mitchell. While the first-named actor is said to have suffered a nervous breakdown, the second fled to Trieste and refused to continue working until his full salary was paid.
Reviews
The national and international film critics didn’t let the novel work out. Here are a few examples:
In its December 9, 1959 edition, Der Spiegel found: “The awkward screen version of Werner Helwig's novel encourages boredom in the cinema so extensively that even the emotional isolation of the leading actress Maria Schell should not have any effect on the popularity of this film. In a tried and tested manner, at the tragic end, you slowly roll a big tear down your cheek. "
“A melancholy drama that tries to create an atmosphere of mystery about the conflict between the inhabitants of two Greek fishing islands who fight each other with irreconcilable hatred. Despite the remarkable camera work, ultimately unsatisfactory, as the claim to profundity remains unfulfilled. "
Bosley Crowther wrote in the New York Times on May 18, 1961 : “The drama, concerned with the frustration of an off-island fellow and an island girl in trying to escape the vengeance of the brutal ruler of the island fisherman, is a feeble stab at entertainment, incoherent and lacking suspense, except in a couple of incidents wherein men battle grimly with the sea. "
Leonard Maltin criticized the "confused script".
Individual evidence
- ^ Personnel Cliff Robertson in Der Spiegel 33/1959
- ↑ predatory fishing in Hellas in Der Spiegel 50/1959
- ↑ Predatory fishermen in Hellas. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ^ As the Sea Rages in New York Times . Translation: "The drama that deals with the frustration of a mainland guy and an island girl trying to escape the vengeance of a brutal island fisherman's leader is a weak slice of entertainment, incoherent and without tension except for a few incidents in which men doggedly against fight the sea. "
- ↑ Movie & Video Guide, 1996 edition, p. 60. It speaks of the “muddled script”
Web links
- Predatory fishing in Hellas in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Predatory fishermen in Hellas at filmportal.de