Der Schatz im Silbersee (1962)

Director:

Harald Reinl

Writers:

Karl May (novel)
Harald G. Petersson (writer)

Release Date:

1 November 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Adventure

Tagline:

Indian Gold! Blood-Red Fury!

Plot Keywords:

Horse | Spaghetti Western | Native American | Local Blockbuster | Based On Novel

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Lex Barker	...	Old Shatterhand
Herbert Lom	...	Colonel Brinkley
Pierre Brice	...	Winnetou
Götz George	...	Fred Engel
Karin Dor	...	Ellen Patterson
Ralf Wolter	...	Sam Hawkens
Eddi Arent	...	Lord Castlepool
Marianne Hoppe	...	Mrs. Butler
Mirko Boman	...	Gunstick Uncle
Sima Janicijevic	...	Patterson (as Jan Sid)
Jozo Kovacevic	...	Grosser Wolf
Slobodan Dimitrijevic	...	Rollender Donner
Branko Spoljar	...	Doc Jefferson Hartley
Milivoj Stojanovic	...	Knox
Velemir Chytil	...	Woodward (as Velemir Hitil)

Also Known As:

Blago u srebrnom jezeru (Yugoslavia: Serbian title)
Le trésor du lac d'argent (France)
Treasure of Silver Lake (USA)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

West Germany | Yugoslavia | France

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:6 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-12 | West Germany:6 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Grobnicko polje, Croatia

Company:

Rialto Film Preben-Philipsen

Trivia:

This was the very first movie to receive the "Golden Screen" (Goldene Leinwand) for having over 3 million visitors within 12 months. It was awarded on 22 January 1964 at the Mathäser-Filmpalast, Munich. The movie also received the Bambi-award 1963 as best box-office-production, handed over on 19 April 1964 at the Schwarzwaldhalle, Karlsruhe. The movie also received a sum of 200.000 DM from the Federal Ministry of the Interior in 1963 as movie-prize. The main title by composer Martin Böttcher, the "Old Shatterhand-Melodie" was the most successful track in German hitparades in the 1960ies, stayed there for several month and was sold with over 100.00 copies. For that time that was very unusual, espcecially for a filmmusic-track without any singers. The music was played by members of the symphony-orchestra of the NDR (Norddeutscher Rundfunk = North German Radio). The theme later also was recorded as vocal track by several singers, including a version by the movie's actor Pierre Brice (Winnetou). The set-location was in former Yugoslavia (that doesn't have any Alps, as some foreign critics seem to believe). "Der Schatz im Silbersee" was the first filmisation of a novel by author Karl May set in the American West. Earlier movies after his novels were all set in the Near East.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The mentioned butterfly Papilio polymnestor parinda is from Sri Lanka and not from North America.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Les rivières pourpres II - Les anges de l'apocalypse (2004)

A terrific western

As a fan of western movies, I was astonished by this one. There was at least 300 or more extras in this film. There were bad guys, good guys, a whole lot of Indians, a secret tunnel, a cave with treasure, a beautiful girl, etc. The scenery was terrific. Apparently it was shot in southern or eastern Europe. All in all, a terrific film. I gave it a 10.