His best friend (1962)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | His best friend |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1962 |
| length | 97 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Luis Trenker |
| script | Luis Trenker, Gustav Kampendonk |
| production | Kurt Ulrich |
| music | Peter Sandloff |
| camera | Rolf Kästel |
| cut | Adolph Schlyßleder |
| occupation | |
| |
His best friend is a German homeland and mountain film by Luis Trenker from 1962.
action
Peter Haller, Marius Melichar and Anderl Hepperger are best friends, go on mountain tours and ski together . After a departure, Marius says goodbye prematurely because he has an appointment with young Clarissa. He doesn't actually love her, but is hoping to marry her, since he is speculating on her father Imhoff's factory, in which Peter also works. Meanwhile, Peter and Anderl agree to climb the Eiger north face in a week .
Marius actually wanted to go to a mountain lake with Clarissa, but decided at short notice to go on a business trip with Imhoff. He also wants to put some distance between himself and his former fiancée Judith, who stopped at the local hotel as a singer during a tour and now wants to remind him of earlier times. Instead of Marius, Peter goes to the lake with his sandpit friend Clarissa and they both fall in love.
Meanwhile, Anderl receives a visit from reporter Pat Nicot, who has heard of the planned ascent and wants to secure the exclusive rights to marketing the mountain tour. Since Anderl never had enough money to enable his mother to dream of running her own business, he signs the contract that brings him 3,000 Swiss francs . When Peter, at Clarissa's instigation, refrains from the planned ascent of the Eiger north face, Anderl tackles the ascent alone - he has already spent the money on his mother's shop and could not pay it back to Pat Nicot; his reputation as a mountain guide is also at stake. Shortly before him, two Italians have already dared to climb.
On the mountain, numerous onlookers and also Pat Nicot watch the ascent on the telescope. Soon, however, Anderl disappeared from the audience's field of vision and everyone feared the worst. Peter, who was able to follow his friend's problems on the radio, decides to help him. When Clarissa gives him the choice "she or Anderl", Peter chooses loyalty to his friend. Later, Marius takes Clarissa to the mountain, where she and Anderl's mother follow everything directly.
Peter catches up with Anderl. When he wants to get down with Anderl, the latter reveals to him that he has been paid for the climb. They now want to climb the summit together. They soon overtake the two Italians and are 300 meters below the summit when suddenly a snow avalanche with rocks loosens. Anderl is killed by the rocks, Peter hangs seriously injured on the ropes. On the ground, volunteers prepare for the ascent and rescue of the victims; Marius is among them. Meanwhile, Clarissa receives a visit from Judith. She tells her that she used to be with Marius and had paid him for the entire course - and that he dropped her when he found a better match in Clarissa. She reveals to Clarissa that Marius hates Peter because he stands between her and Imhoff's money.
At the summit, the mountain rescuers decide to rappel down a man to Anderl and Peter. Marius volunteers. First he meets the slain Anderl, whose death he announces. He rappels down to Peter. Although he speaks to him, Marius announces that Peter has also died of exhaustion. He leaves him behind. Clarissa, who learns of Peter's death over the radio, implores the head of the mountain rescue that Marius is lying because he hates Peter. The leader ensures that Marius retrieves one of the dead, and finally Marius brings the seriously injured Peter to the men. He leaves the mountain alone.
Anderl's funeral takes place a little later. Shortly afterwards, Peter and Clarissa can be seen driving away in the convertible.
production
The recordings took place from June to the end of August in and in front of the Eiger north face and in Lugano . Scenes from a hit festival in Lugano with appearances by Carmela Corren and Rocco Granata were also integrated into the film. Since the shooting in Switzerland had been extended due to bad weather, the studio recordings in Berlin-Spandau did not begin until the beginning of September. The originally planned premiere date on September 27, 1962 could therefore not be kept. The world premiere finally took place on November 30, 1962 in the Stuttgart Universum .
It was the last feature film that Luis Trenker worked on: he directed, wrote the screenplay and also gives a short introduction to the film, in which he tells of the real accidents on the north face of the Eiger. Hilti von Almen, who plays mountaineer Anderl in the film, was actually a mountaineer. In 1962, when the film was made, he and Paul Etter made the first winter ascent of the Matterhorn .
criticism
On the occasion of a television broadcast of the film in 1985, Der Spiegel described his best friend as “Love, jealousy and camaraderie in the north face of the Eiger. Alpine Methuselah Luis Trenker lets the 'Blitz von Kitz' Toni Sailer crash in this Kraxel drama (1962). "
The lexicon of international films described his best friend as a film about the ascent of the north face of the Eiger, “the example of which is intended to show the boundary between sporty mountaineering and irresponsible recklessness. Combined with a cinematic act of love and jealousy. "
Cinema called the film a "mountain drama with a love story".
Web links
- His best friend in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- His best friend at filmportal.de