To the chronicle of Grieshuus (film)

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Movie
Original title To the chronicle of Grieshuus
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1925
length 110 minutes
Rod
Director Arthur von Gerlach
script Thea of ​​Harbou
production Erich Pommer for UFA
music Gottfried Huppertz
camera Fritz Arno Wagner
Carl Drews
Erich Nitzschmann
occupation

The Chronicle of Grieshuus is a German feature film by Arthur von Gerlach from 1925. The novel of the same name by Theodor Storm from 1884 served as a template for the film .

action

Grieshuus Castle shortly before 1700 in Holstein: The old lord of the castle chose his older son Hinrich to be his heir, while the younger son Detlef moved to the city to study law there. One day the daughter of the serf Owe Heiken, Barbara, who is only called Bärbe by everyone, is attacked by marauding soldiers. At the last moment she can save Hinrich from the attacks.

The young man falls in love with the beautiful woman and wants to marry her. His father, however, is strictly against it, he regards the future daughter-in-law as improper and wants to disinherit Hinrich if necessary. A violent argument ensues between father and son, in which the father dies. This unexpected death results in a bitter struggle between the two dissimilar brothers for the inheritance. Detlev now claims the Grieshuus estate with all of its lands for himself, in keeping with the deceased father. He tries by all means to separate Hinrich and Bärbe. But Bärbe is now pregnant and suffers a premature birth due to the arguments and excitement. While the child survives, Bärbe dies.

Junker Hinrich then kills his brother Detlev and flees in a panic. The newborn, a boy named Enzio, is lovingly raised by the servants at Grieshuus Castle. But Detlev's widow Gesine tries, in the spirit of her slain husband, to grab Grieshuus. Gesine wants to kidnap Enzio. One day Hinrich returns to his old home unrecognized. Finally he succeeds in snatching his son from Gesine and securing his inheritance.

Production notes

The film, which is considered to be a late, naturalistic masterpiece of cinematic expressionism , was shot from May 1923 to November 1924 in the vicinity of Wilsede in the Lüneburg Heath (exterior shots) and on the open-air site of Neubabelsberg . Its premiere took place on February 11, 1925 in Berlin's Ufa-Palast am Zoo .

It was Arthur von Gerlach's second, last and most famous cinema production.

The studio buildings were designed by Robert Herlth and Walter Röhrig , the exterior buildings were designed by the renowned architect Hans Poelzig . As production manager served Max Wogritsch that with Fritz Klotzsch the manager took over. Walter Schulze-Mittendorf designed the sculptures. Grieshuus Castle, built for the film in Neubabelsberg, was reused two years later as Norfolk Castle in the second part of the film Maria Stuart (1927, director: Friedrich Feher ). Ironically, Arthur Kraussneck played the lord of the castle here too.

When the censorship was accepted on February 9, 1925, the film received the ratings "popular education" and "artistic". On April 17, 1925, a shortened version of the film passed the censorship under the title Junker Hinrichs forbidden love .

criticism

Reclam's film guide writes: “The film tells its story in a straightforward manner, although it undermines both caricature exaggerations and sentimentality. The portrayal of the past, which he by no means turns into a superficial costume play, is almost always well done. And the buildings (Robert Herlth, Walter Röhrig), which were organically integrated into the landscape, are particularly remarkable. "

Paimann's film lists summed up: "The subject is exciting and clear right from the start, handled by the director in the best possible way, which particularly impressed the heathen mood and the buildings that emerge from it. Photography and representation are excellent, even if the whole thing is one, certainly deliberate gloom, given by the reproach. "

In Oskar Kalbus ' Vom Werden deutscher Filmkunst (Vom Becoming German Film Art) you can read: “Arthur von Gerlach awakened the old soulful, wistful ballad“ Chronik von Grieshuus ”(based on a novella by Theodor Storm) from the north German heath and with it the people (Lil Dagover , Paul Hartmann and Rudolf Forster) and fates combined into a wonderful unit ”.

literature

  • Eberhard Berger: To the chronicle of Grieshuus . In: Günther Dahlke, Günther Karl (Hrsg.): German feature films from the beginnings to 1933. A film guide. 2nd Edition. Henschel, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-89487-009-5 , p. 113 f.
  • Holger Bachmann: Across the heath into the heart of the nation - Theodor Storm's novella "To chronicle of Grieshuus" and its film adaptation by the Ufa 1925 . Verlag Die Blaue Eule, Essen 1996, ISBN 3-89206-775-9 .
  • Reclams Universum 41 (1924) - world tour of Nov. 13, 1924 - p. 137 (film still of the superstructures)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dieter Krusche, Jürgen Labenski: Reclams film guide. Reclam, Stuttgart 1973, ISBN 3-15-010204-9 , p. 138.
  2. ↑ On the chronicle of Grieshuus in Paimann's film lists
  3. ^ Oskar Kalbus: On the becoming of German film art. 1st part: The silent film. Cigarette picture service, Altona-Bahrenfeld 1935, p. 66.