''Robert and Bertram'' () is a 1939 German

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

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 ...

directed by Hans H. Zerlett and starring Rudi Godden,

Kurt Seifert Kurt Seifert (4 July 1903 – 3 December 1950) was a German actor, singer, comedian, and in his later years, theatre director. Seifert was known as an operetta singer.O'Brien p.32 From 1934 onwards he appeared in a significant number of feature fi ...

, and Carla Rust. It premiered in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

on 7 July 1939. It was based on the 1856 play '' Robert and Bertram'' by Gustav Räder about two wandering vagrants which had been adapted into several film versions including a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

film of the same title the previous year. It was set in 1839. It was made by

Tobis Film Tobis Film was a German film production and film distribution company. Founded in the late 1920s as a merger of several companies involved in the switch from silent film, silent to sound films, the organisation emerged as a leading German sound s ...

at the company's

Johannisthal Studios The Johannisthal Studios were film studios located in the Berlin area of Johannisthal. Founded in 1920 on the site of a former airfield, they were a centre of production during the Weimar and Nazi eras. Nearly four hundred films were made at Johan ...

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 ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Karl Machus Karl Machus (1884–1944) was a German art director. Along with Erich Zander he designed the sets for most of the films made by director Veit Harlan during the Nazi era.Noack p.145 Selected filmography * ''Prince Cuckoo'' (1919) * '' Blonde Poiso ...

and

Erich Zander Erich Zander (11 April 1905 in Kassel - 15 April 1991 in Eutin) was a German field hockey player who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and in the 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olymp ...

. It was the only

anti-semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

released during the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

era and the first film since

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

to focus on

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

as cultural and economic outsiders.O'Brien p. 32 Ironically, the film's antagonist, the Jew Nathan Ipelmeyer, is not a cultural and economic outsider, but a wealthy burgher of the city.

Cast

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* * 1939 films Films of Nazi Germany 1930s historical comedy films 1939 musical comedy films German historical comedy films German musical comedy films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Hans H. Zerlett German films based on plays Films set in the 19th century Films set in the 1830s Nazi antisemitic propaganda films Tobis Film films Films shot at Johannisthal Studios German black-and-white films 1930s historical musical films German historical musical films 1930s German films Films scored by Leo Leux German-language musical comedy films Nazi-era films restricted in Germany Films based on Robert and Bertram German-language historical comedy films {{historic-musical-film-stub