''Bombs on Monte Carlo'' (german: Bomben auf Monte Carlo) is a 1931 German musical

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 ol ...

directed by

Hanns Schwarz Hanns Schwarz (11 February 1888 – 27 October 1945) was an Austrian film director. He was born in Vienna on 11 February 1888. Biography He directed twenty four films between 1924 and 1937 in both English and German. During the late silent and ...

and starring Hans Albers, Anna Sten, and

Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...

. The film is based on the novel '' Bomben auf Monte Carlo'' (1930) by Fritz Reck-Malleczewen. It premiered at the

Ufa-Palast am Zoo The Ufa-Palast am Zoo, located near Berlin Zoological Garden in the New West area of Charlottenburg, was a major Berlin cinema owned by Universum Film AG, or Ufa. Opened in 1919 and enlarged in 1925, it was the largest cinema in Germany until 192 ...

in August 1931. The film is known for featuring the German a capella band

Comedian Harmonists The Comedian Harmonists were an internationally famous, all-male German close harmony ensemble that performed between 1928 and 1934 as one of the most successful musical groups in Europe before World War II. The group consisted of Harry Fromm ...

, who perform the song '' Das ist die Liebe der Matrosen''.

Plot

Captain Craddock commands the Mediterranean cruiser Persimon, which sails under the flag of the Kingdom of Pontenero. Like his crew, he hasn't received any pay for a long time because the kingdom is bankrupt. Therefore, he refuses to take Queen Yola I on board for a Mediterranean cruise. Instead, he goes to Monte Carlo to confront the Pontenero consul there. But Yola is already there incognito, who, for lack of money, sacrifices her pearl necklace, for which Craddock finally receives 100,000 francs. Disguised as a half-world lady, Yola persuades the captain to try his luck at the casino, where Craddock loses all the money after initial winnings. He blames the manager of the casino and threatens his ship to shell him if he doesn't get the money back. Undetected, Yola follows the angry captain onto his cruiser, who actually has the ship's artillery finished the next day. Panic breaks out in the city and people flee. Then Yola reveals herself as the queen on deck and forbids the shelling. She wants Craddock to be her Secretary of the Navy, and since he is recalcitrant, she has him summarily arrested by the first officer. But Craddock jumps overboard to catch a passing passenger ship. Yola does not give up and gives the order to follow with the cruiser. The outcome remains open, the film ends with sea shanties.

Production

The film was produced by the production unit of Erich Pommer. It was made at the

Babelsberg Studios Babelsberg Film Studio (german: Filmstudio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the second oldest large-scale film studio in the world only preceded by the Danish Nordisk Film (est. 1906), producing films since ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and shot on location in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

. The art director

Erich Kettelhut Erich Karl Heinrich Kettelhut (1 November 1893 – 13 March 1979) was a German production designer, art director and set decorator. Kettelhut is considered one of the most important artists in the history of early German cinema, mainly for his s ...

designed the film sets. A separate English-language version '' Monte Carlo Madness'' and a French version '' Le capitaine Craddock'' were also made as part of

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

's strategy to export its films to other countries. In 1960 the film was remade as '' Bombs on Monte Carlo''.

Cast

* Hans Albers as Craddock * Anna Sten as Yola *

as Peter Schmidt *

Ida Wüst Ida Wüst (; 10 October 1884 – 4 October 1958) was a German stage and film actress whose career was prominent in the 1920s and 1930s with Universum Film AG (UFA). Life and career Little is known about Ida Wüst's early childhood. She discovere ...

as Isabell *

Rachel Devirys Rachel Devirys (28 February 1890 - 16 May 1983) was a French film actress born in the Crimea, Russian Empire (now Ukraine). She starred in some 50 films between 1916 and 1956. Born Rachel Itzkovitz, in 1916 she played "Madelon", the name role ...

as Diane *

Kurt Gerron Kurt Gerron (11 May 1897 – 28 October 1944) was a German Jewish actor and film director. He and his wife, Olga were murdered in the Holocaust. Life Born Kurt Gerson into a well-off merchant family in Berlin, he studied medicine before being ca ...

as casino manager *

Karl Etlinger Karl Etlinger (16 October 1879 – 8 May 1946) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1914 and 1946. Selected filmography * '' The Eternal Curse'' (1921) * '' The Poisoned Stream'' (1921) * '' The Films of Prin ...

as consul *

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

as Pawlitschek *

Otto Wallburg Otto Wallburg (21 February 1889 – 29 October 1944) was a German actor and Kabarett performer. He was a prolific film actor during the late silent and early sound era. Wallburg was born Otto Maximilian Wasserzug in Berlin, the son of a Jewis ...

as minister * Charles Kullmann as street singer *

Bruno Ziener Bruno Ziener (11 June 1870 – 9 February 1941) was a German stage and film actor and director. He appeared in over 100 films between 1913 and 1941. He also directed 28 silent films such as ''The Flight into Death'' (1921).Grange p. 95 Selected ...

as jeweler *

as sailors

References

External links

* 1931 musical comedy films Films based on German novels Films directed by Hanns Schwarz Films of the Weimar Republic Films set in Monaco Films set in the Mediterranean Sea German musical comedy films German multilingual films Operetta films Seafaring films Films shot in France UFA GmbH films German black-and-white films 1931 multilingual films Films shot at Babelsberg Studios 1930s German films {{Musical-comedy-film-stub