Christmas bells 1914
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Christmas bells 1914 |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1914 |
| length | approx. 48 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Franz Hofer |
| script | Franz Hofer |
| production | Max Maschke for Luna-Film, Berlin |
| occupation | |
| |
Christmas Bells 1914 is a German silent film war drama from 1914 directed by Franz Hofer .
action
Austria-Hungary , first Christmas of the war in 1914. The organist of a small border town, whose son serves at the front like so many other sons of other Austrian families, rings the three bells of the village church. While the man of God reads mass on Christmas Eve, an old mother crouches and prays that her son Hans will come out of the battle unharmed. Next to her is the young Countess Lo, daughter of the landlord Halden. Just as the old Mrs. Herting had to let her Hans, once a district forester, go to fight for the fatherland, so too is Lo worried about someone close to her, her brother Egon. Egon serves as a lieutenant in the same regiment as Hans Herting. As the little church gradually empties again, it is the two women of different generations and social classes who continue to sit side by side in silent devotion and deep hope ...
At home with Los parents, Mr and Mrs von Halden remember their son Egon in silent prayer. Trying to celebrate Christmas like every year may not really work this year. While twelve-year-old Gerda and her two younger brothers romp through the hallways of the manor house, the Halden parents don't feel like partying. After all, Lo has asked the old servant to look after at least one Christmas tree. When the tree shines with lights, the maid rushes over and delivers a message that Egon allegedly fell in battle. The horror is soon followed by relief, as a telegram says that the young man is only slightly wounded in the hospital . Together with his lifesaver, comrade Sergeant Herting, he will arrive at the small community tomorrow, in time for Christmas.
Lo quickly rushes to the person sitting next to her in the chapel to convey the good news to her that her son is fine and that he will return home tomorrow with Los brother. Lo the old woman lovingly tinkered a Christmas tree out of a few twigs and placed the redeeming telegram underneath as her very personal gift. Finally, Hans enters the door, and for the first time the daughter of the upper class, Countess Lo, and the representative of the lower classes, Hans Herting, face each other. Lo gives him his hand in thanks for saving his brother, and this encounter quickly turns into mutual sympathy. Then she runs home in no time at all, because if Hans Herting has already returned to his mother, Egon must have already arrived home. And she actually meets her beloved brother in the hallway. The war, the mutual willingness to help and the feeling of togetherness of both families ultimately enables Hans and Lo to meet and learn to love each other across all class barriers. This does not remain hidden from Egon either, and he ensures that the count's father gives his blessing for this connection, which was unusual at that time.
Production notes
Christmas bells 1914 , also known as Homecoming , was made in the fall of 1914 in the Berlin Luna Film Atelier at Friedrichstrasse 224. The film was censored on December 9th of the same year and was premiered that same month at the Kammerlichtspiele on Potsdamer Platz . In Austria-Hungary, where Returned Home was around 880 meters long, it called on December 25, 1914. The film had three acts.
The film tells of the mood on the “home front” at the beginning of the First World War by almost completely dispensing with scenes from the battlefields. In addition, due to the upcoming marriage of the two lovers from different classes, the basic idea of the famous Kaiser Wilhelm phrase about the cohesion of all Germans across parties, denominations and classes will be implemented in the cinematic act. Christmas bells 1914 is one of the few Hofer productions that have been preserved.
criticism
“Christmas bells is a small masterpiece and undoubtedly the most original and complete of Hofer's surviving films. It has the added advantage of offering a subtle portrait of the pre-war German bourgeoisie, which was so prominently represented in the literature of the period. The main title of the film is accompanied by the subtitle: "Coming home, a war story." This is important because this truly extraordinary film is actually a "war story" but tells about war without showing it. […] In short, there is something noble and honorable about this distant view of the war. "