Helmut Käutner

[Tommaso]

This is a German filmmaker I became only aware of after some press coverage for the 100th anniversary of his birth and a retrospective of five of his early films on 3sat a few weeks ago. It seems that the name of Käutner isn't well known even in Germany, though some of his films are.
Anyway, of the five films I recorded from TV (including what is generally considered his masterpiece, "Unter den Brücken" from 1945), I have only managed to watch two yet, and I was pleasantly surprised.

I started with his first (or second, there are different accounts) film, "Kitty und die Weltkonferenz" (1939), a brilliant satirical comedy of international politics, very well played and handsomely directed. Käutner seems to have been fond of late-silent-era superimpositions, for example. This reminded me a lot of the best Hollywood comedies of the time, and also a little of some early German talkies, pre-33. It is pretty irreverent and stylish and was immediately banned by the Nazis after release.

The second film I watched is his best known (at least in Germany), but one which I always refused to see, because my grandma was a big fan of this... Anyway, I quite liked Hans Albers in "Große Freiheit Nr.7", a not overly deep, but quite charming film about an ex-sailor who refuses to go back to the sea and plays the accordion in some Hamburg nightclub (this film contains the evergreen "Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb eins"). Of course he does get back to the sea in the end, after some failed love interest. What intrigued me about the film was its general lyrical and poetic quality, which is never forced, but constantly shines through; also there was a quite amazing dream sequence near the end which somewhat reminded me of similar sequences in Powell & Pressburger ("IKWIG", for instance). Very nice, despite of the badly faded Agfacolor.

So, in other words, has anyone heard the name of Käutner and has something to say about him?

[lubitsch]

Do you know the series "Film-Konzepte"? The next book in July (the current one is about David Lean) will be about Käutner edited by two friends of me (and - to indulge in a bit of self promotion - with an article I've written), one of the two will write his dissertation about Käutner. Unfortunately, this discussion will be limited to German speaking members because the availability of films in English language is more or less inexistent. German cinema betwen 1933 and 1965 is hardly known internationally which is not entirely unfair, but simply a tragedy for the really great directors and films of the time. I strongly recommend for every film fan UNTER DEN BRUECKEN in an English friendly edition arguably the best film of the whole Third Reich production. A thread is here.

Käutner had a special talent for intimate, tender scenes and a visual way of telling stories. His best films are ROMANZE IN MOLL, UNTER DEN BRUECKEN, GROSSE FREIHEIT NR.7, IN JENEN TAGEN, DIE LETZTE BRUECKE, LUDWIG II, HIMMEL OHNE STERNE, DER HAUPTMANN VON KÖPENICK, DER REST IST SCHWEIGEN, SCHWARZER KIES, DIE ROTE. Despite a background in cabaret his comedies aren't that great, quite playful, but without bite, though DER APFEL IST AB is a visual treat.

A small hint for the Criterion or MoC folks: Käutners films were restored from the negatives and English subtitles made by the Goethe institut. They just need somebody to release them in USA or GB.

[Tommaso]

Thanks for the "Film-Konzepte" promotion! This sounds like a very promising book.

Despite a background in cabaret his comedies aren't that great, quite playful, but without bite,

Oh, I wouldn't say that about "Kitty". It was such a wonderful treat to see all the fun he pokes at Richard Wagner fans in that one, especially if you consider that Wagner was the Fuehrer's favorite composer.

I wish not only for Criterion or MoC to release Käutner films. "Große Freiheit" definitely needs to be redone, the existing German disc looks as bad apparently as the TV broadcast, if amazon reviews are any indication. All the colours were completely wrong, and the film looked dullishly brown. And you know how nice Agfacolor can look after a good resto, see "Münchhausen".

[Tommaso]

Have just noticed that a German label has recently released Käutner's 1950 "Königskinder" on dvd. According to the amazon reviewer it even has English subs!

Not quite sure about the film, though. Käutner's post-1945 work is of varying quality (to put it mildly), so has anyone seen it and can comment whether the film is worthwhile?

[lubitsch]

Have just noticed that a German label has recently released Käutner's 1950 "Königskinder" on dvd. According to the amazon reviewer it even has English subs!

Not quite sure about the film, though. Käutner's post-1945 work is of varying quality (to put it mildly), so has anyone seen it and can comment whether the film is worthwhile?

It's rather in the lower half of his output or let's say a solidly entertaining film, Gunter Groll called it a feudal Trümmerfilm and this apparent contradiction describes it very well, a returning noble family finds their castle in shambles and tries to keep it up by leading tourists around. It has the gifted Jenny Jugo in the lead and the DVD is really good, made by a label which has released some other films with similar care though no great classics unfortunately. Support your locas film labels, never know what they else might release.

[Tommaso]

has the gifted Jenny Jugo in the lead and the DVD is really good, made by a label which has released some other films with similar care though no great classics unfortunately. Support your locas film labels, never know what they else might release.

Thanks, Lubitsch, I will. Noted down for the next purchase from jpc. That label called Magic Picture indeed seems to care for quality a bit, and it's good to see that the German film tradition currently seems to get a little more attention (even though the releases from the "Schätze des deutschen Tonfilms"-series excite me a little bit more). Now, if someone could only provide us with the apparently much more important and grittier late Käutner films "Die Rote" and "Schwarzer Kies", not to speak of the apparently somewhat Cocteau-ish 1948 "Der Apfel ist ab"....

[serdar002]

I liked "Die letzte Brücke" (The last bridge - 1954), a WWII drama filmed on location in Yugoslavia, very good black-and-white cinematography, Berhard Wicki and Maria Schell entirely convincing as the Yugoslav partisan and the German nurse.

[Camera Obscura]

Not too impressed with his films so far, but Der Hauptman von Köpenick (1956) is sort of a nostalgic favorite, but I generally like anything with Heinz Rühmann in it.

[Tommaso]

I generally dislike anything with Rühmann in it, but the "Hauptmann" is indeed an exception. I often think that Rühmann should have taken on serious roles like this more often. Of his comedies, I generally only like some of the very early ones: he's good as a 'sideman' in "Die drei von der Tankstelle", "Einbrecher" and "Ich und die Kaiserin" (all of which are mainly Lilian Harvey vehicles, thankfully), and he also is quite convincing in Siodmak's "Der Mann der seinen Mörder sucht", Boese's "Heimkehr ins Glück" and especially in Liebeneiner's "Der Florentiner Hut" (a re-make of Clair's "The Straw Hat", which thanks to Flicker Alley we'll be able to see soon). But for the rest: nada. Not even Ophuls' "Lachende Erben" does anything for me.

As for "Köpenick": Rühmann delivers a fantastic and genuinely touching performance, even though I think that the film itself doesn't come near Käutner's great masterpieces from the 40s like "Romanze in moll" and "Unter den Brücken". But it's certainly one of Käutner's better films from the 50s (and also one of the few good films from the 50s in Germany in general), well scripted and directed all the way.

[Camera Obscura]

Rühmann certainly made his fair share of stinkers (as did Käutner), but he really did some of his best work in more serious roles like in Es Geschah am hellichten Tag (1958), the Dürrenmatt adaptation by Ladislao Vajda, which is one of the better German films of the 50s I have seen. I prefer that version to the schmaltzy new agish Sean Penn remake with Jack Nicholson. Another excellent serious role by Rühmann is in Robert Siodmak's Mein Schulfreund (1960), a very touching performance in a film that was consequently mismarketed as yet another 'light comedy', with Rühmann on the cover with a clown's nose, which he indeed wears at a carnival party in one of the key scenes in the film, but it's actually one of the very few films of the period dealing with the legacy of Germany's nazi-past in post-war German society. No idea why this film is sidelined so often. Well worth seeing. It's out there on an excellent DVD from Kinowelt. No English subs, though, and I'm not aware of an English-friendly alternative.

Siodmak's Der Mann der seinen Mörder sucht (1931) sounds very interesting, and I see titles like Der Florentiner Hut and Heimkehr ins Glück are out there on dirtcheap German editions. I suppose image quality is not that stellar, but worth a shot I suppose.

Oh, and the German disc of Grosse Freiheir Nr. 7 is quite terrible, but I think it's the best option available right now. And I see there's a yet another release of Unter den Brücken in a series called "Momenten des Deutchen Films" with other titles like Abschied von Gestern, Frau im Mond, Menschen am Sonntag, Die Katze. I think it's time for some Käutner bargain hunting now.

[Tommaso]

Thanks for the 'serious Rühmann' suggestions. "Es geschah am hellichten Tag" is one of those famous German films I never got around to seeing As my local library has it, I think I should borrow it soon.

The three dirt cheap discs from Black Hill are well worth having, even though image quality is widely varying. The Siodmak survives only in a cut 50 min. version which looks pretty mangled on top of it (and has the curious alternative title "Joe, der Mann mit der Narbe" in the opening credits), but it's the only way to see the film at all. The two others look quite fine for the time, as far as I remember.

And I wasn't aware of that new FAZ series you mentioned. Looks good, though I suppose they won't unearth all those much missed masterpieces from the 20s and 30s that are sorely lacking on disc. You're right about the image quality of "Grosse Freiheit", but the TV broadcast from two years ago didn't look better either. This film is in terrible need of restoration, especially considering the colours (and Agfacolor CAN look gorgeous if restored, if "Münchhausen" is any indication). But for the moment the disc is recommended if it can be gotten cheap; it's simply one of Käutner's very best films.