Die 3 Groschen-Oper (1931)

Director:

Georg Wilhelm Pabst

Writers:

Bertolt Brecht (text by)
Béla Balázs (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

25 February 1932 (Japan)

Genre:

Musical

Plot:

In London at the turn of the century, the bandit Mack the Knife marries Polly without the knowledge of her father, Peachum, the 'king of the beggars'.

Plot Keywords:

Based On Play | Number In Title

Cast

Rudolf Forster	...	Mackie Messer
Carola Neher	...	Polly
Reinhold Schünzel	...	Tiger-Brown
Fritz Rasp	...	Peachum
Valeska Gert	...	Mrs. Peachum
Lotte Lenya	...	Jenny (as Lotte Lenja)
Hermann Thimig	...	The Vicar
Ernst Busch	...	The Street Singer
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Smith, the Jailer (as Wladimir Sokolow)
Paul Kemp	...	Mackie Messer's Gang Member
Gustav Püttjer	...	Mackie Messer's Gang Member
Oskar Höcker	...	Mackie Messer's Gang Member
Krafft-Raschig	...	Mackie Messer's Gang Member (as Kraft Raschig)
Herbert Grünbaum	...	Filch
Sylvia Torf	...	Whorehouse owner

Also Known As:

Die Dreigroschenoper (Germany) (alternative spelling)
The Beggar's Opera
The Threepenny Opera (International: English title) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Tobis-Klangfilm)

Certification:

Germany:(Banned) (1934-1945) | West Germany:18 (nf) | Finland:(Banned) (1932-1951) | Finland:K-16 (1951)

Filming Locations:

Halensee, Grunewald, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The film was banned by the Nazi Party in 1933 and prints of the film were destroyed. The film was restored and reconstructed in the 1960s.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#17.4)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Die Dreigroschenoper

Ensemble genius

Great musicals always have great people working at every different level in a united way. The script, the songs, the actors, the camera-movements all must stand on their own while contributing to the musical proper. We have classic cases of this where all those involved went their separate ways and were never able to recreate that magic. Instead of this somewhat accidental result, we have here a carefully calculated masterpiece. It was recognised that this was an important social work, and there were a number of things that needed to happen in its execution. They needed Brecht's (a dramatist becoming increasingly fascinated with cinema) cooperation, they got it. They needed a capable expressionistic director, they got it. They needed creative writers to narrow the work down to a typical film length, they got them. They needed strong powerful actors to circumvent any possible lingering sentimentality, they got them as well. This was an age where film was becoming run by the studios, but in creative ways striving to create great art, and we have stunning works like this to prove it.

5 out of 5 - Essential