''Adorable Arabella'' (German: ''Bezaubernde Arabella'') is a 1959 West German

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Axel von Ambesser and starring Johanna von Koczian, Carlos Thompson and

Hilde Hildebrand Emma Minna Hilde Hildebrand (10 September 1897 – 12 May 1976) was a German actress born in Hanover, Germany on 10 September 1897. She died at the age of 78 in Grunewald, Berlin, on 27 May 1976. Selected filmography * ''Die Scheidungsehe'' ...

. It is an adaptation of the 1949 novel ''

Arabella ''Arabella'', Op. 79, is a lyric comedy, or opera, in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration. Performance history It was first performed on 1 July 1933 at the D ...

'' by

Georgette Heyer Georgette Heyer (; 16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974) was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brothe ...

.Goble p.221 The film's sets were designed by the art directors

Gottfried Will Gottfried is a masculine German given name. It is derived from the Old High German name , recorded since the 7th century. The name is composed of the elements (conflated from the etyma for 'God' and 'good', and possibly further conflated with ) a ...

and

Rolf Zehetbauer Rolf Zehetbauer (13 February 1929 – 23 January 2022) was a German production designer, art director and set decorator. Zehetbauer won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film '' Cabaret''. He died on 23 January 2022, ...

. It was shot using

Agfacolor An Agfacolor slide dated 1937 from café in Oslo, Norway. An Agfacolor slide dated 1937 from Paris, France. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 from Hungary. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 from Zakopane in Poland. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 fr ...

, with

location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for e ...

taking place around

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. It premiered just before Christmas 1959 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. The film was part of the production programme of the recently relaunched

UFA Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...

company.

Synopsis

The story is set in the early years of the 20th century. A young German woman whose father has recently died is sent to visit her relatives in Edwardian England in the hope of attracting a wealthy husband.

Cast

* Johanna von Koczian as Arabella * Carlos Thompson as Robert Beaumaris *

as Lady Bridlington * Axel von Ambesser as Lord Fleetwood *

Peer Schmidt Peer Eugen Georg Schmidt (11 March 1926; Erfurt, Weimar Germany – 8 May 2010; Berlin) was a German actor who specialized in films, television and dubbing. He is best known as the German voice of Gérard Philipe, Marlon Brando and Jean-Paul Belm ...

as Gordon Blair *

Hans Nielsen Hans Nielsen may refer to: * Hans Nielsen (American football) (born 1952), Denmark football player * Hans Nielsen (composer) (1580–1626), Danish madrigal composer at the court of Christian IV * Hans Nielsen (actor) (1911–1965), German actor * H ...

as Vater Hagemann * Josef Meinrad as Sir Archibald Duncan *

Fritz Eckhardt Fritz Eckhardt (born Linz, 30 November 1907; died Klosterneuburg, 31 December 1995) was an Austrian actor, director, and writer. He is remembered for playing the lead role as ''chief inspector Marek'' in the Österreichischer Rundfunk versi ...

as Hill, Bierbrauer * Gregor von Rezzori as Sir Roderick Crawford * Käthe Haack as Mutter Reger * Christian Doermer as Helmut Hagemann * Karin Himboldt as Harriet *

Ulla Moritz Ulla is a given name. It is short for Ursula in German-speaking countries and Ulrika/ Ulrikke in Scandinavian countries. As of 31 December 2011, there were 61,043 females named Ulla in Sweden, with the name being most popular during the 1930s a ...

as Charlotte * Michaela Heine as Elschen *

Alexander von Richthofen Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

as Karl-Heinz *

Franz-Otto Krüger Franz-Otto Krüger (1 April 1917 – 17 March 1988) was a German film and television actor. Krüger already started his acting at Berlin theatres in 1934, but his career was interrupted by his service in the Second World War. He appeared in over ...

as Herr Schnering *

Emmy Burg Emmy Burg (1903–1982) was a German film and television actress.Rentschler p.326 Selected filmography * '' The Beaver Coat'' (1949) * '' Homesick for You'' (1952) * '' Bon Voyage'' (1954) * '' The Witch'' (1954) * '' Before God and Man'' (1955) ...

as Frau Schnering * Reinhold Pasch as Bill, Verwalter

References

Bibliography

* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009. * Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.

External links

* 1959 films West German films German historical comedy films 1950s historical comedy films 1950s German-language films Films directed by Axel von Ambesser Films based on British novels Films set in London Films set in the 1900s UFA GmbH films 1950s German films {{1950s-Germany-film-stub