The 3 Penny Opera (1931)

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'.

Director:

Georg Wilhelm Pabst (as G.W. Pabst)

Writers:

Bertolt Brecht (story) (as Brecht), Léo Lania (manuscript) (as Lania)

Stars:

Rudolf Forster, Lotte Lenya, Carola Neher

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rudolf Forster	...	Mackie Messer
Carola Neher	...	Polly
Reinhold Schünzel	...	Tiger-Brown
Fritz Rasp	...	Peachum
Valeska Gert	...	Frau Peachum
Lotte Lenya	...	Jenny (as Lotte Lenja)
Hermann Thimig	...	Der Pfarrer
Ernst Busch	...	Der Straßensänger
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Smith (as Wladimir Sokolow)
Paul Kemp	...	Mackie Messers Platte
Gustav Püttjer	...	Mackie Messers Platte
Oskar Höcker	...	Mackie Messers Platte
Krafft-Raschig	...	Mackie Messers Platte (as Kraft Raschig)
Herbert Grünbaum	...	Filch

Storyline

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'.

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Plot Keywords:

thieves | police | crowning | rats | social inequality | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

For those who try and translate the title as "The Three Dime Opera" or the "Thirty-Cent Opera," it should be noted that German title "Die 3 Groschen-Opera" translates very well into English as the "Threepenny Opera." 3d (Threepence) in the UK was, in pre-decimal times (pre-1971), the closest equivalent to 3% of a pound. (There were 240 pence in the pound, not 100)

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Quotes

Peachum: You too wish to be part of this splendid occasion. You, poorest of the poor, who'd long ago have perished in the sewers of Turnbridge if I hadn't spent sleepless nights devising a way to wring a few pence out of your poverty. For I've shown that the rich of this world have no qualms about causing misery but can't bear the sight of it. They have hard hearts but weak nerves. Well, we won't spare their nerves today! By the thousands we'll tear at their nerves, for our rags do not conceal our ...

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Connections

Version of Driestuiversopera (1969)

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Soundtracks

Die Dreigroschenoper
Composed by Kurt Weill
Libretto by Bertolt Brecht

User Reviews

lumbering movie but great visually

The movie isn't a filmed version of the stage play and doesn't pretend to be. It moves along at a sometimes creaky, sometimes disjointed pace. And when does it take place? There was no coronation of anybody in Victorian England, and I don't believe they had telephones. But those are quibbles. The thrill of it is the art direction - the expressionistic sets, set decoration and costumes are wonders. All those steep staircases! Those "London" streets! Terrific.

I wonder if some of the disjointed sequences and odd pacing of the movie result from the fact that it's a reconstruction, the original having gone the way of all entartete art in Nazi Germany.

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

19 October 1956 (East Germany)

Also Known As:

The 3 Penny Opera

Filming Locations:

Staaken Studio, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tobis Filmkunst, Nero-Film AG, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 104 min (censored) 106 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Tobis-Klangfilm)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1