Cabaret (1972)

A female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them.

Director:

Bob Fosse

Writers:

Joe Masteroff (based on the musical play "Cabaret" book by), John Van Druten (based on the play by)

Stars:

Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem

Won 8 Oscars. Another 27 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Liza Minnelli	...	Sally Bowles
Michael York	...	Brian Roberts
Helmut Griem	...	Maximilian von Heune
Joel Grey	...	Master of Ceremonies
Fritz Wepper	...	Fritz Wendel
Marisa Berenson	...	Natalia Landauer
Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel	...	Fraulein Schneider
Helen Vita	...	Fraulein Kost
Sigrid von Richthofen	...	Fraulein Mayr (as Sigrid Von Richthofen)
Gerd Vespermann	...	Bobby
Ralf Wolter	...	Herr Ludwig
Georg Hartmann	...	Willi
Ricky Renée	...	Elke (as Ricky Renee)
Estrongo Nachama	...	Cantor
Kathryn Doby	...	Kit-Kat Dancer

Storyline

Cambridge University student Brian Roberts arrives in Berlin in 1931 to complete his German studies. Without much money, he plans on making a living teaching English while living in an inexpensive rooming house, where he befriends another of the tenants, American Sally Bowles. She is outwardly a flamboyant, perpetually happy person who works as a singer at the decadent Kit Kat Klub, a cabaret styled venue. Sally's outward façade is matched by that of the Klub, overseen by the omnipresent Master of Ceremonies. Sally draws Brian into her world, and initially wants him to be one of her many lovers, until she learns that he is a homosexual, albeit a celibate one. Among their other friends are his students, the poor Fritz Wendel, who wants to be a gigolo to live a comfortable life, and the straight-laced and beautiful Natalia Landauer, a Jewish heiress. Fritz initially sees Natalia as his money ticket, but eventually falls for her. However Natalia is suspect of his motives and cannot ...

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Plot Keywords:

cabaret | jewish | nazism | closeted homosexual | bisexual man | 

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Taglines:

Life is a Cabaret

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Genres:

Drama | Musical

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Hebrew French

Release Date:

13 February 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Кабаре

Filming Locations:

Biergarten, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$42,765,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allied Artists Pictures, ABC Pictures, A Feuer and Martin Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Sally Bowles was based on Jean Ross, an aspiring actress, singer, and writer, who lived a colorful life. She was reportedly unhappy with Isherwood's portrayal of her as apolitical, and even slightly antisemitic. She was a member of the Communist Party, and may have been in Germany as an agent of the Comintern. She was also married for a time to Claud Cockburn, the father of journalist Alexander Cockburn, who described her as "a gentle, cultivated, and very beautiful woman, not a bit like the vulgar vamp displayed by Lisa Minnelli."

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Goofs

During the song "Willkommen" when the Master of Ceremonies says "Outside, it is windy," his mouth does not match what he's saying on the word "windy".

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Quotes

Master of Ceremonies: Outside it is windy, but inside it is so hot, every night we have ze battle to keep the girls from taking off all their clothing. So don't go away, who knows? Tonight we may lose the battle!

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: Berlin 1931

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Alternate Versions

In the film's first telecast, on ABC-TV, all reference to Max's bisexuality was edited out, changing the motivation one of the other characters completely.

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Connections

Referenced in Beverly Kills (2005)

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Soundtracks

Two Ladies
Written by John Kander and Fred Ebb
Sung by Joel Grey

User Reviews

The Center Jewel in Bob Fosse's Triple Crown

1973 was a very good year for legendary director/choreographer Bob Fosse. He won an Emmy for directing and choreographing the television special LIZA WITH A Z, he won a Tony for directing the Broadway musical PIPPIN, and blindsided Francis Ford Copolla by winning an Oscar for Best Director for CABARET, the dazzling 1972 film version, which is Fosse's re-thinking of the 1966 Broadway musical. The stage and screen versions are quite different and as independent works, they stand on their own as outstanding achievements and it is not necessary to have seen the play to appreciate the movie. The main focal point of Fosse's re-thinking of the musical is that he wanted it to be a more "realistic" musical and therefore made sure that all of the musical numbers (with the exception of "Tomorrow Belongs to Me")all took place within the walls of the Kit Kat Club. He cut several numbers from the original score, but if you listen, some of them can be heard as background music in several scenes. He also shifted the focus of the way the story is told...the play tells the story from the leading man's point of view, but Fosse switches the focus to the character of Sally Bowles, the brassy, sassy party girl who believes in "divine decadence' and wears bright green fingernail polish. Fosse also takes two secondary characters from the play, who are older, and makes them young and attractive in order to make their story more youth-friendly, I imagine. Liza Minnelli turns in a dazzling Oscar-winning performance as Sally, a gutsy, self-absorbed party girl who shows signs of vulnerability and a desperate need to be loved. Minnelli makes the most of her musical and non-musical moments in the film...her climactic confrontation with Brian (Michael York)is brilliantly performed. York is charming and sexy as Brian and Joel Grey's Oscar winning turn as the Master of Ceremonies is a delight. The musical numbers are all brilliantly staged and performed, from the opening number "Willkomenn" to the new "Money" song performed by Minnelli and Grey, to "Maybe this Time", the ballad belted out by Minnelli onstage in the empty club. Fosse cleverly counterparts the musical numbers with the realities of what is going on in Nazi Occupied 1931 Berlin with sometimes startling effect. "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" still gives me goosebumps every time I watch the film. This film ruled at the '73 Oscars, winning eight awards in all (it lost Best Picture to THE GODFATHER)and deserved every accolade it received. A sparkling, eye-popping, thought-provoking, haunting film experience that should be savored over and over again.