Haunted Castle (1947)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Haunted castle |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1947 |
| length | 81 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Hans H. Zerlett |
| script | Hans H. Zerlett |
| production | Georg Fiebiger for Bavaria-Filmkunst (Munich) |
| music | Leo Leux |
| camera | Josef Strecher |
| cut | Walter Fredersdorf |
| occupation | |
| |
Spuk im Schloß is a feature film made towards the end of the Second World War, a rare example of a German horror comedy. Under the direction of Hans H. Zerlett , Margot Hielscher and Albert Matterstock played the leading roles in 1943/44 .
action
When the young Gabriele Euler strolls past an antique shop, she accidentally discovers a family coat of arms on a tapestry in the shop window , which is also engraved on the silver jewelry box she inherited from her father. The coat of arms shows an owl on a vine. In the shop, Gabriele asked Robert Mauritius, the owner's son, to find out which noble family this coat of arms belongs to. Robert looks up a heraldry book and finds that the coat of arms belongs to the family of the Counts of Uhlenfels. Gabriele must learn from him, however, that this sex was already extinct around 1600. The young woman decides to get to the bottom of the matter and travels to Uhlenfels Castle, which still exists. Robert continues his research too, having fallen head over heels in love with Gabriele.
When Robert drives his car with his father and sister Dagmar, the car breaks down shortly before Uhlenfels Castle. A terrible storm is raging, and the family decides to ask at the castle whether they should not seek shelter there. The bizarre servant Waldemar, the lord of the castle factotum and maid for everything, grants the three of them shelter, but demands that they remain absolutely calm, as Count Vogelbein, who has lived here for six years, does not want to be disturbed. As befits a decent castle, the haunted scene begins at midnight sharp: see-through figures in medieval robes scurry through the corridors, knights cross their swords. Robert wants you to keep quiet about the events of the previous night, because he wants to personally investigate the mysterious events the next day.
Now Gabriele arrives at the castle too. Waldemar also grants her entry and leads her to a painting by Countess Adelheid von Uhlenfels, which she looks astonishingly similar. Meanwhile, Robert Mauritius finds out a lot about the vita of Adelheid: As a woman, she once stood between two men who desire her, both of whom were her cousins. It came to a duel in which cousin Martin killed his rival. Martin then had to flee the country, and Adelheid accompanied him. A child was born, and over the centuries the descendants of Uhlenfels became Euler - Gabriele's surname. So she is actually a Countess Uhlenfels. When Robert Gabriele wanted to show the ghostly apparitions the next night, nothing happened this time. At a later meeting between Gabriele and Robert during a show premiere, the ghost apparitions in the castle are cleared up. Behind this is none other than the ominous castle resident Graf Vogelbein alias Alexander Graf, who has made a name for himself as a skilled illusionist and conjures up ghostly apparitions in his demonstrations using infrared rays. Between Robert and Gabriele Euler / von Uhlenfels there is finally a happy ending.
Production notes
The film was shot under the working title Spuk at midnight from November 29, 1943 in the Hostiwar studios in Prague. The outdoor photos were taken in Munich and in the Salzkammergut . After almost exactly three months (end of February 1944) filming was completed. Spuk im Schloss , however, did not reach the German film censors until March 1945 and could therefore no longer be shown in cinemas before the end of the war. The premiere of this comedy was delayed until February 20, 1947, when Spuk im Schloss in Munich was shown for the first time. The Berlin premiere took place on November 24, 1947. The television first broadcast was on October 13, 1957 on ARD .
Director Zerlett also wrote the script for the film and received a fee of 20,000 Reichsmarks for it. The Film-Kurier reported in detail about the innovations in this strip in its edition of February 11, 1944.
The buildings were designed by Heinrich Weidemann and Fritz Lück , the costumes were designed by Maria Pommer-Uhlig. Hans R. Wunschel was responsible for the sound.
criticism
Karsten Witte called it after the war "a defeatist film" that tries to catch up with democratic traditions , and not without good reason. "
"Originally conceived and mostly exhilarating ghost comedy."
Web links
- Haunted in the castle in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- Spook in the castle at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Boguslaw Drewniak: 'Der deutsche Film 1938–1945', a total overview. Düsseldorf 1987, p. 482
- ↑ ibid.
- ↑ Spook in the castle. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .