''The Berliner'' (; also known as ''The Ballad of Berlin'') is a 1948 German

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

adapted by Günter Neumann from his cabaret, directed by Robert A. Stemmle, and starring

Gert Fröbe Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe (; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor. He was known in English-speaking countries for his work as the title character in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'', as Peachum in ''The Threepenny Opera ...

in his first leading role. It offers a satirical portrayal of life in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Plot

The film has a framing narrative set in 2048 where viewers are offered the chance to look back at "The Ancients", which introduces the main narrative set in 1948. The film reflects the struggles of Otto Normalverbraucher (Otto Average-Consumer, played by Fröbe), a former German soldier returning to civilian life in

after

. After many travails, struggling to find food, shelter, and work, he eventually falls in love and ends up happily with his dream woman.

Production

The film was adapted by Günter Neumann from his cabaret program ''Schwarzer Jahrmarkt'', was filmed in

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

at the time of the Soviet blockade, and shot on location and at the

Tempelhof Studios The Tempelhof Studios are a film studio located in Tempelhof in the German capital of Berlin. They were founded in 1912, during the silent era, by German film pioneer Alfred Duskes, who built a glass-roofed studio on the site with financial back ...

. The film was narrated by

Erik Ode Erik Ode (born Fritz Erik Signy Odemar, 6 November 1910 – 19 July 1983) was a German director and actor who was most famous for playing Kommissar ''Herbert Keller'' in the German television drama ''Der Kommissar (TV series), Der Kommissar'' (The ...

. Joseph Burstyn Inc. distributed the film in the U.S.

Cast

as Otto Normalverbraucher *

Tatjana Sais Tatjana Sais, Lady Greene (28 January 1910 – 26 February 1981) was a German film actress. She appeared in 20 films between 1937 and 1967 and was a member of the jury at the 1st Berlin International Film Festival. She was married to Günt ...

as Frau Ida Holle *

Ute Sielisch Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute people, a Native American people of the Great Basin * Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah * Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah * Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ut ...

as Eva Wandel, Bäuerin *

Aribert Wäscher Aribert Wäscher (1 December 1895 – 14 December 1961) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * '' The Black Tulip Festival'' (1920) * '' The Graveyard of the Living'' (1921) * '' Slums of Berlin'' (1925) * '' The Hanseatics'' (1925) * ' ...

as Anton Zeithammer *

O.E. Hasse Otto Eduard Hasse (11 July 1903 – 12 September 1978) was a German film actor and director. Biography Hasse was born to Wilhelm Gustav Eduard Hasse, a blacksmith, and Valeria Hasse in the village of Obersitzko, Province of Posen, German E ...

as Der Reaktionär *

Hans Deppe Hans Deppe (; 12 November 1897 – 23 September 1969) was a German actor and film director. Filmography As director As actor References External links

* 1897 births 1969 deaths German male film actors German television dire ...

as Emil Lemke * Werner Oehlschlaeger as Raisonneur *

Karl Schönböck Karl Schönböck (4 February 1909 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary – 24 March 2001 in Munich, Republic of Germany) was an Austrian actor.

as Rundfunkreporter *

Herbert Hübner Herbert Hübner (6 February 1889 – 27 January 1972) was a German stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1921 and 1966. He was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) and died in Munich, West Germany. Select ...

as Herr Bollmann, politischer Redner *

Alfred Schieske Alfred Schieske (6 September 1908 – 14 July 1970) was a German actor. Career Schieske was born in Stuttgart, the son of a German father and a French mother. He studied acting with Willy Reichert made his stage debut at the Staatstheater Stutt ...

as Herr Schneidewind, Politischer Redner *

Herbert Weissbach Herbert may refer to: People * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, Northern Territor ...

as Spirituosenhändler *

Kurt Weitkamp Kurt is a male given name in Germanic languages. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Konrad/Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. Like Conrad, it can also a surname an ...

as Einbrecher *

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 Einbrecher Franz

Critical reception

The Darmstädter Echo praised it for its lack of spite and viciousness and its humor and humanity. Angelica Fenner compares the film to

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

with devices such as the

omniscient narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

, prototypical characters, and satirical tone. Sabine Hake points out that although within the genre of post-war ''Trümmerfilme'' (

rubble film Rubble film () was an aesthetic choice for those films made directly after World War II dealing with the impact of the battles in the countries at the center of the war. The style was mostly used by filmmakers in the rebuilding film industries o ...

) it offers a refreshing change from the majority of those films through its use of satirical humor. In contrast, Stephen Brockmann criticised the film for portraying an optimistic message about the survival of the human spirit after World War II while ignoring the causes of the war.

Awards

It was nominated for a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

for Best Film from any Source in the 1950 ceremony, when it was beaten by ''

Bicycle Thieves ''Bicycle Thieves'' (), also known as ''The Bicycle Thief'', is a 1948 Italian neorealist drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It follows the story of a poor father searching in post-World War II Rome for his stolen bicycle, without which h ...

''. It won an International Prize at the

10th Venice International Film Festival The 10th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 11 August to 1 September 1949. The Venice Film Festival came back permanently to the Palazzo del Cinema on the Venice Lido. The award for the Best Film in competition was renamed ...

in 1949.

References

External links

* 1948 films 1940s satirical films 1940s science fiction comedy films West German films 1940s German-language films Films set in Berlin Films shot in Berlin Films set in 1948 Films set in 2048 German satirical films German science fiction comedy films German black-and-white films Films shot at Tempelhof Studios 1948 comedy films 1940s German films Films directed by Robert A. Stemmle Films scored by Werner Eisbrenner Frame stories {{1940s-Germany-film-stub