Hungarian Rhapsody (1928)

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Movie
Original title Hungarian rhapsody
Country of production German Empire
original language German
Publishing year 1928
length 97 minutes
Rod
Director Hanns Schwarz
script Fred Majo
Hans Szekely
production Erich Pommer
music Willy Schmidt-Gentner
camera Carl Hoffmann
cut Erich Schmidt
occupation

Hungarian Rhapsody is a German silent film from 1928. Directed by Hanns Schwarz play Willy Fritsch and Dita Parlo the leading roles as lovers.

action

Somewhere in the Hungarian Puszta. Honvéd Lieutenant Franz Graf von Turoczy is completely absorbed in his profession as a professional officer and hussar. His heart belongs to the pretty peasant girl Marika Doczy, the daughter of an estate manager. Now that the harvest is coming in, there is a great festival going on. Lieutenant Franz takes the opportunity, sneaks to the window of Marika's bunker and calls out her name. In the summer heat of the night, the two of them come closer to each other in the park, and Marika fervently hopes that her dashing hussar will finally propose to her. But Turoczy loves his job more than anything, and marriage with a peasant girl, for whom he would have to take off her uniform for the sake of her and work by her side in the field, is out of the question for him for this reason, especially since he does not pay the marriage bail either can. Marika leaves him, deeply injured.

Turoczy does not stay alone for long, at the harvest festival he begins a flirtation with the wife of his supreme superior, Lieutenant General Sedlacek, who is staying with his much younger wife at the estate's Puszta Castle. Camilla is very grand dame and knows how to make men docile. For her, everything is just a game, and that's exactly how she throws a flower to the gypsy primate playing in a tavern, whereupon the heart of the hot-blooded Magyar immediately ignites. When this musician now sees Count Turoczy dancing and kissing the officer's wife, jealousy suddenly boils up in him. The primate telephones the general's husband while the unfaithful Madame Turoczy takes her to her boudoir.

Marika has observed the whole scene from her little room and is deeply sad as a result. When the general, informed by the gypsy primate, arrives in front of the castle, Marika quickly sets off to warn her lover, who is about to go horizontal with Camilla. She knocks discreetly on the general's wife's door, so that Lieutenant Franz has just enough time to leave immediately. General Sedlacek storms into his wife's boudoir ... and finds her alone. When he opens another door, he meets his hussar lieutenant there, at his side: the peasant maiden Marika. Only now does Franz von Turoczy realize that this girl is the love of his life and decides to take off the lieutenant's uniform in order to begin a new, country life at her side.

Production notes and trivia

Hungarian Rhapsody was written in the late summer of 1928 in the UFA Studios in Neubabelsberg and in Mezohegyes, Hungary. The film was 2652 meters long, divided into eight acts, was censored on October 16, 1928 and was premiered on November 22, 1928 in Berlin's UFA-Palast am Zoo . The film opened in Austria on December 4, 1928.

This was the last film for film veteran Erich Kaiser-Titz , he died just a few days after the premiere.

Producer Erich Pommer and his production assistant Max Pfeiffer also took over the production management, supporting actors Max Wogritsch and Robert Wuellner were responsible for the production management. Erich Kettelhut designed the film structures. The Hungarian Geza Fargo took over the artistic advice. Joe May , who usually works as a director, took part in the script under the pseudonym Fred Majo. His co-author Hans Szekely also provided the basis for the film material, a story.

An English version was also produced for the British market under the title Hungarian Rhapsody . The Rhapsodie Hongroise version was created for France .

A sound film version of Hungarian Rhapsody was produced in autumn 1929 and shown in Vienna in May 1930.

Leading actors Willy Fritsch and Dita Parlo played lovers here for the first time. The following year they were reunited as lovers for the strip Melodie des Herzens , which was also set and filmed in Hungary, and was the UFA's first sound film.

Reviews

Paimann's Filmlisten praised the film for the fact that the film title hit the subject perfectly and that the mood of the landscape was completely captured. The "plot that is gripping due to its simplicity" was "staged with great care and accuracy" and "a chosen ensemble was entrusted with the embodiment of its main characters". The achievements of the two antagonists Dita Parlo and Lil Dagover as well as the camera work by Carl Hoffmann were particularly emphasized. "Overall qualification: a hit."

The Austrian film newspaper was also enthusiastic. Hungarian rhapsody is “visual eye music, but it also needs the music of the country that it brings to mind so vividly, the flattering gypsy music that permeates all the pictures, the game and the plot”. Furthermore, the individual achievements of the actors are highlighted, especially the Willy Fritschs, Dita Parlos, Andor Heltais and Lil Dagovers. "Above all, however, hovers the masterpiece of the extremely understanding direction by Hanns Schwarz."

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ulrich J. Klaus: German sound films 1st year 1929/30. P. 165 (117.30), Berlin / Berchtesgaden 1988
  2. ^ Hungarian rhapsody in Paimann's film lists
  3. ^ Hungarian Rhapsody in the Austrian Film Newspaper

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