''My Name is Niki'' (german: Ich heiße Niki) is a 1952 West German

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ori ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Rudolf Jugert Rudolf Jugert (1907–1979) was a German film director. Selected filmography * ''Film Without a Title'' (1948) * '' Hallo, Fräulein!'' (1949) * '' A Day Will Come'' (1950) * ''Nights on the Road'' (1952) * ''Illusion in a Minor Key'' (1952) * ''J ...

and starring

Paul Hörbiger Paul Hörbiger (29 April 1894 – 5 March 1981) was an Austrian theatre and film actor. Life and work Paul Hörbiger was born in the Hungarian capital Budapest, then part of Austria-Hungary, the son of engineer Hanns Hörbiger, founder of t ...

Aglaja Schmid Aglaja Schmid (1926–2003) was an Austrian stage and film actress.Fritsche, p. 232. She was married to the theatre and film director Rudolf Steinboeck. Selected filmography * ''The Other Life'' (1948) * ''The Trial'' (1948) * '' Dreaming Days' ...

and

Hardy Krüger Hardy Krüger (; born Eberhard August Franz Ewald Krüger; 12 April 1928 – 19 January 2022) was a German actor and author, who appeared in more than 60 films from 1944 onwards. After becoming a film star in Germany in the 1950s, Krüger increa ...

.Parish p.267 It was made by

Bavaria Film Bavaria Film is a German film production and distribution company. It is one of Europe's largest film production companies, with some 30 subsidiaries. History The studios were founded in 1919, when Munich-raised film producer Peter Ostermayr ...

at the company's

Munich Studios Bavaria Studios are film production studios located in Munich, the capital of the region of Bavaria in Germany, and a subsidiary of Bavaria Film. History The studios were constructed in the suburb of Geiselgasteig in 1919 shortly after the Firs ...

and on location in the city and in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

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

Franz Bi Franz Bi (2 April 1899 – 25 December 1968) was a German art director.Giesen p.197 He worked on the set design of more than forty films during his career, often in collaboration with Bruno Monden. Selected filmography * '' The Rainer Case'' (19 ...

and Botho Höfer.

Synopsis

While travelling on a train

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

Hieronymus Spitz encounters a young woman Winnie and her child Niki. When the train pulls into a

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle stati ...

she gets off, leaving Niki and her

suitcase A suitcase is a form of luggage. It is a rectangular container with a handle typically used to carry one's clothes and other belongings while traveling. The first suitcases appeared in the late 19th century due to the increased popularity of ...

behind. A

letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

reveals that she cannot look after the boy and entrusts him to Spitz. He plans to give the child to the authorities, but changes his mind at the urging of his

landlady A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position ...

Jette and the two plan to raise the boy themselves. Winnie had abandoned Niki because he was

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ...

and she plans to emigrate to America with her

fiancee An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

Paul, and she fears he won't accept another man's child. Having regrets, she skips the ship and instead begins to search for son in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. Paul, having discovered the truth, comes after her. The two join forces to find Niki. When at last he is discovered at Spitz's house, the civil servant is very reluctant to hand the child over. Due to his engaging personality, Niki has completely transformed the staid civil servant's life.

Cast

as Hieronymus Spitz *

as Winnie *

as Paul *

Erika von Thellmann Erika von Thellmann (1902–1988) was an Austrian actress who appeared in more than a hundred films and television series during her career.Fritsche p.254 Selected filmography * ''The Stone Rider'' (1923) * '' Marriage Strike'' (1935) *''The Gree ...

as Jette *

Lina Carstens Lina Carstens (6 December 1892 in Wiesbaden – 22 September 1978 in Munich) was a German film and theater actress. On stage she appeared in plays by Gerhart Hauptmann, Arthur Schnitzler, and August Strindberg, and in her old age she starred in the ...

as Frau Altmann *

Heini Göbel Heini is both a given name and a surname. It is mainly a masculine given name in German-speaking countries, but a feminine given name in Finland. However, in Wales, it is a both masculine and feminine given name, meaning 'healthy and spirited'. Cu ...

as Stangl *

Bruno Hübner Bruno Hübner (1899–1983) was an Austrian film and television actor known for his work in Germany.Goble p.412 He was born in Reichenberg then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which later became part of Czechoslovakia. Selected filmography * '' ...

as Regierungsdirektor *

Hans Pössenbacher Hans Pössenbacher (14 July 1895 – 24 February 1979) was an Austrian-born German actor. Filmography References External links * 1895 births 1979 deaths German male film actors Actors from Graz 20th-century German male actors ...

as Bahnhofsvorstand *

Charles Regnier Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

as Redakteur Claus *

Hedwig Wangel Hedwig Wangel (1875–1961) was a German stage and film actress. Life and career Born as Amalie Pauline Hedwig Simon on September 23, 1875, in Berlin in the German Empire, Hedwig Wangel was the daughter of a music publisher. After studying acting ...

as Guste *

Carsta Löck Carsta Löck (28 December 1902 – 9 October 1993) was a German film actress. Selected filmography * '' Refugees'' (1933) * '' Ripening Youth'' (1933) * ''The Double Fiance'' (1934) * '' Trouble with Jolanthe'' (1934) * '' Police Report'' (19 ...

as Junge Magd *

Harry Hertzsch Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

as Kommissar *

Ewald Wenck Ewald Wenck (28 December 1891 – 3 April 1981) was a German actor. He appeared in more than 230 films and television shows between 1919 and 1978. Selected filmography * ''We Stick Together Through Thick and Thin'' (1929) * '' Spoiling the ...

as Schaffner * Claus Hollmann as Niki

References

Bibliography

* James Robert Parish. ''Film Actors Guide''. Scarecrow Press, 1977.

External links

* 1952 films 1952 comedy films German comedy films 1952 drama films German drama films West German films 1950s German-language films Films directed by Rudolf Jugert Bavaria Film films German black-and-white films 1950s German films Films shot at Bavaria Studios Films shot in Hamburg Films shot in Munich Films set in Hamburg Films set in Munich {{1950s-Germany-film-stub