So are men

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Movie
Original title So are men
Country of production German Empire
original language German
Publishing year 1923
length 119 minutes
Rod
Director Georg Jacoby
script Robert Liebmann
Georg Jacoby
production European Film Alliance (Efa-Film), Berlin
camera Emil Schünemann
Max Schneider
occupation

So are the men is a 1922 German costume silent film comedy by Georg Jacoby with Harry Liedtke , Paul Heidemann and Egon von Hagen as Emperor Napoleon I in the leading roles. Marlene Dietrich , 20 years old at the time of shooting , made her film debut here in a supporting role.

action

At the height of Napoleon's reign of terror and tyranny over Europe in 1807, the French emperor appointed his hapless and talentless youngest brother, Jérôme , as the new ruler of the Kingdom of Westphalia as a result of the forced peace of Tilsit . The no-nonsense Jérôme quickly orientated himself towards the character of his brother, who was spoiled for success, and founded a splendid court in Kassel at Wilhelmshöhe Castle. In the surroundings of the castle, its wonderful park and the pretty water features, he wastes his time with exuberant garden parties. The Baron von Katzenellenbogen, whose police minister, has his niece Charlotte, who has a milk sister in the innkeeper’s daughter Annemarie, run his household. On a hunting trip, Annemarie met Georg von Melsungen by chance, who was sent to the Jérômes court as Napoleon's courier. Georg moves into quarters in Katzenellenbogens' house, and it quickly begins to crackle between him and Charlotte. They both fall in love and eventually get married.

But since Jérôme always keeps an eye on beautiful women like Charlotte, George's wife has her hands full to keep the king at a distance by the grace of Napoleon. In order to defend Jérôme's pursuit and she has not obeyed one of his orders, Charlotte escapes to her uncle's Wolfshagen estate. Georg then puts on the uniform of Postillons Florian and goes to his city apartment, but does not find his wife Charlotte, who has escaped from the city. Thereupon he hurries to the theater, believing that he will find Charlotte in the king's box. But she is not here either. The jealousy boils more and more in Georg, because once he had to see that the king presented his wife with a golden key that does not allow access to his theater box but to all the palace rooms.

Since Charlotte has gone to Gut Wolfhagen, Charlotte does not find his wife in the theater either. The initiated Annemarie, who now belongs to the king's ballet troupe, tells Georg about the connections she knows. King Jérôme, who is still chasing Charlotte's skirt, has meanwhile found out where Charlotte has escaped. For a moment he chases after her as far as Gut Wolfshagen, but Charlotte is smarter and escapes again, this time dressed as a farmer's girl. In the forest, Charlotte finally meets her husband Georg, who is on the brisk ride, and the couple are finally reunited. A little later, Georg confronts the King of Westphalia, who then has the emperor's courier thrown into the dungeon of the Löwenburg. There Georg meets the postilion Florian, whose costume he once borrowed. Both are freed from their cell by Annemarie with the golden key. When Jérôme wants to have her arrested again, Emperor Napoleon appears and brings his brother ill-done to reason. Georg and Charlotte as well as Florian and Annemarie finally have the opportunity to live out their love happiness undisturbed.

Production notes

The shooting took place from June to November 1922 at Wilhelmshöhe Palace in Kassel and in the Efa studios in Berlin. The premiere took place on November 29, 1923 in Berlin's Marble House .

Martin Jacoby-Boy designed the film structures; his colleagues Fritz Maurischat and Erich Grave helped him with the execution .

useful information

For the architect, designer, draftsman and film architect Martin Jacoby-Boy, this should be his last assignment for the film. After his extensive work on the Indian tomb of Joe May , for which he had already created the huge film structures for The Mistress of the World , Jacoby-Boy had himself brought back to the film for So are the men . The reason he gave at the beginning of the shooting in Film-Kurier was: “I am asked why, after my successes 'Mistress of the World' and 'Indian Tomb', after my many years of collaboration with Joe May, I disappeared completely from the scene and whether I even intend to tell the film Valet. (...) After a break of several months, which I used intensively for scientific studies, I am only now able to begin my actual work with Georg Jacoby. (...) The time of the Empire, its characteristic customs, its dressy costumes, its classic interiors, give ample opportunity to suggest the style of the time, the peculiar timbre of this epoch to the beholder. "

Reviews

“If there is anything to complain about with this amusing costume, then it hits the fable, which doesn't really fit into our time, and the title, whose teasing sweetness shows bad taste. (...) The plot of the film is not kept tight, but broken down into a mosaic of humorous, even grotesque scenes, which give a number of film comedians the opportunity to show themselves from their best side. In addition to Liedtke, who likes to shine in joking episodes, Paul Heidemann, the brisk operetta tenor who is only too stingy for solo scenes, Kurt Fuß with cabaret-like dexterity and Jacob Tiedtke with the humorous agility of his round body, who always laughs, should be mentioned has on his side. The beautiful Alice Hechy, who has not been able to look back on film successes so far, comes out very favorably in this picture. "

“Georg Jacoby's direction is based on the American point of view and tries to adapt to German tastes to draw a new direction from this. Once again he was not entirely successful, but at least so that one greets his species with joy and calmly looks forward to his new experiments. There is a great deal of good pictorially on offer, there are details of an almost extraordinary visual effect, of a delicacy of technical treatment that is very commendable. An entertainment film that cleverly links actions with one another and also understands how to entertain them. The alternation between game scenes and landscape shots are very effective. Occasionally the pace of the plot is a bit slow, a little monotony is noticeable, but on the whole the film is very amusing and has an excellent audience effect. "

“(…) But we don't need to watch over historical justice here, we just need to determine whether the film, in the center of which Georg Jacoby has placed an anecdote from the life of 'King Lustik', is good or not. H. whether it serves its purpose of entertaining in a pleasant manner; and that he undoubtedly does, if one disregards some of the lengths of the manuscript, which, incidentally, could easily be eradicated. (…) Jacoby Boys' excellent buildings and costume designs are particularly beautiful in this work, which, in conjunction with Georg Jacoby's direction, were able to match the style and mood of the Empire in the most happy way possible. In the portrayal, Liedtke proved himself in the role of one of those lovable heavy hitters who suit his type particularly well; Antonia Dietrich, on the other hand, was somewhat weak in the role of his wife. Alice Hechy and Jacob Tiedtke were excellent, and Paul Heidemann also knew how to come to terms with the role of 'Hercules von Wilhelmshöh'. - Photographically the film is well above average. Some pretty landscapes from the Kassel area were particularly successful. "

“Why did the 'unhistorical comedy' (in the marble house) leave us strangely cool? Because it does not seek the connection with our living sense of time. Nowhere are there any points of contact that put us in an inner relationship with the things and people that slide by on the canvas. All the more, the necessary balance should have been created through a contemporary style in furnishing and presentation. Certainly, a year or two ago we would have been delighted by this shimmering blaze of color, these dawdling shepherd games with all the accessories of the historical film set; but now the eye that has seen films like 'Schatten', 'Schorben' (and most recently 'Die Strasse') is completely alienated from these things. (...) These incidents are only interested in the film where the general human aspect comes to the fore in the film. For example with Jacob Tiedtke and Paul Biensfeldt, who cover their characters with subtly suggestive humor. "

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Film-Kurier, Berlin, Volume 4, No. 157, from July 25, 1922
  2. Der Kinematograph, Berlin, Volume 17, No. 876, Page 8, from December 2, 1923
  3. Der Film, Berlin, Volume 8, No. 48, Page 15, from December 2, 1923
  4. ^ Heinrich Fraenkel in Lichtbildbühne, Berlin, Volume 16, No. 48, Page 26, from December 1, 1923
  5. Berliner Tageblatt , Berlin, Volume 52, No. 556, from December 2, 1923

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