Die Feuerzangenbowle (1944)

Director:

Helmut Weiss

Writer:

Heinrich Spoerl (novel)

Release Date:

22 January 1945 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Dieser Film ist ein Loblieb auf die Schule, aber es ist möglich, daß die Schule es nicht merkt.

Plot:

Hans Pfeiffer and some of his friends are drinking "Feuerzangenbowle". Talking about their school-time...

Plot Keywords:

School | Prank | Remake | Garbage | Burlesque

Cast

Heinz Rühmann	...	Dr. Johannes Pfeiffer / Hans Pfeiffer
Karin Himboldt	...	Eva Knauer
Hilde Sessak	...	Marion
Erich Ponto	...	Professor Grey - called Schnauz
Paul Henckels	...	Professor Bömmel
Hans Leibelt	...	Gymnasialdirektor Knauer, called Zeus
Lutz Götz	...	Oberlehrer Dr. Brett
Hans Richter	...	Rosen
Clemens Hasse	...	Rudi Knebel
Hedwig Wangel	...	Haushälterin bei Crey
Anneliese Würtz	...	Frau Windscheidt
Margarete Schön	...	Frau Knauer (as Marg. Schön)
Max Gülstorff	...	Oberschulrat
Egon Vogel	...	Musiklehrer Fridolin
Rudi Schippel	...	Luck

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Kurpark, Hotel Badehof, Bad Salzschlirf, Hesse, Germany

Company:

Terra-Filmkunst

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Knebel draws a nude on the blackboard you see thin lines that help him trace the drawing.

Movie Connections:

Version of So ein Flegel (1934)

Ferris Bueller in Pre-War Germany

Die Feuerzangenbowle is based on the familiar and often-filmed story idea of pupils playing various tricks and jokes on their teachers. An easy excuse for an avalanche of slapstick one might think and indeed we get our fair share.

The twist in the story is the leader of the pack, the major cause of the teachers' headaches: Johannes Pfeiffer. He is not a real pupil at all, instead a successful playwright with a PhD. One evening at the pub his friends discover that he never went to a school but was educated privately. Their stories of their boyhood years (and a bit too much alcohol) persuade him to see for himself and 'be a boy again'.

Die Feuerzangenbowle is the second film version of Heinrich Spoerl's novel. Heinz Rühmann played the lead in both films, which is somewhat surprising as they have been made ten years apart. Therefore he is a bit too old for his role now but still manages to pull it off quite convincingly.

The film was made in 1944, so it is a bit astonishing that the Nazi censors were prepared to pass a film with such an anti-authoritarian message. To keep them happy, Spoerl created one character, the teacher Brett, who displays authority and firmness and whom the pupils blindingly obey -- the sort of person you can easily imagine being in charge of an SS regiment. Still, Spoerl uses this very character to deliver a political message: when the teachers discuss how to get hold of the culprit of the most recent outrageous trick, one suggests that "there is always a 'friend' willing to talk", a clear reference to the wide-spread culture of denunciation in Nazi Germany. Brett replies "I hope we don't have any friends like this in our school."

Die Feuerzangenbowle is very well made and today enjoys a cult status in Germany (the 1944 version that is). However, most of the humour would not travel well at all, especially the clever use of accents and dialects is virtually untranslatable; a non-native speaker -- even somebody with a fair knowledge of German -- would miss most of it when watching the original.