''Swelling Melodies'' () is a 1955 East German

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

directed by E.W. Fiedler and starring Erich Arnold,

Jarmila Ksírová Jarmila is a Slavic origin female given name. Derived from the Slavic elements jary ''fierce, strong'' and mil ''favour''. Similar names are Jaromíra and Jaroslava. Nicknames are Jarka, Jarcza, Jara, Jarina, Jaromilka, Jarmilka, Mila, Jarulinka. ...

and

Sonja Schöner Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to: People * Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya) :* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films :* Sonia ...

. It is an adaptation of the operetta ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original literary source for ' was ...

'' by

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

and

Richard Genée Franz Friedrich Richard Genée (7 February 1823 – 15 June 1895) was a Prussian-born Austrian libretto, librettist, playwright, and composer. Life Genée was born in Gdańsk, Danzig. He died in Baden bei Wien. Works He is most famous for the li ...

and was part of a tradition of

operetta films Operetta films (German: Operettenfilm) are a genre of musical films associated with, but not exclusive to, German language cinema. The genre began in the late 1920s, but its roots stretch back into the tradition of nineteenth century Viennese ope ...

in German cinema.. It was released in 1955, and sold 4,968,582 tickets.List of the 50 highest-grossing DEFA films.
/ref> It was made by the state-backed

DEFA DEFA (''Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft'') was the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) throughout the country's existence. Since 2019, DEFA's film heritage has been made accessible and licensable on the PR ...

studios. The film's sets were designed by

Artur Günther Artur Günther (1893–1972) was a German art director.Giesen p.202 He designed the sets for more than a hundred films during a lengthy career. Selected filmography * ''When the Dead Speak'' (1917) * ''Ikarus, the Flying Man'' (1918) * ''Alraune, ...

Cast

* Erich Arnold as Gabriel von Eisenstein *

as Rosalinde von Eisenstein *

as Adele *

Herbert Kiper Herbert Kiper (1897–1978) was a German stage and film actor.Körner p.370 Selected filmography * ''Dancer of Death'' (1920) * ''Without Meyer, No Celebration is Complete'' (1931) * ''Duty Is Duty'' (1931) * '' Quartet of Five'' (1949) * '' Hear ...

as Dr. Falke *

Gerd Frickhöffer Gerd Frickhöffer (21 November 1913 – 4 July 1980) was a German film and television actor. He appeared as Captain Donvan in the television detective series '' Sergeant Berry''. Selected filmography * '' Chemistry and Love'' (1948) * '' Every ...

as Prinz Orlofsky *

Rolf Weih Rolf Weih (1906–1969) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * '' Flachsmann the Educator'' (1930) * '' Comrades at Sea'' (1938) * '' Alarm at Station III'' (1939) * '' In the Name of the People'' (1939) * '' The Governor'' (1939) * ''Ala ...

as Alfred *

Hans Wocke Hans Wocke (born 2 August 1908 in Danzig, died after 1967) was a German airplane designer. He was the chief developer of Junkers (JFM AG) during World War II. One of Wocke's major achievements was the development of the Junkers Ju 287 wing design ...

as Gefängnisdirektor Frank *

Joseph Egger Joseph Egger (22 February 1889 – 29 August 1966; also spelled Josef Egger) was an Austrian character actor who appeared in 76 films between 1935 and 1965. Biography The 18-year-old Egger started his stage career at the Leoben theatre. Durin ...

as Gefängniswärter Frosch * Elvira Sternbeck as Ida *

Hans Klering Hans Karl Klering (8 November 1906 – 30 October 1988) was a German actor, director, voice actor, graphic designer and author. He joined the Communist Party and went into exile in the Soviet Union in 1931, returning to Germany in 1945. In 1946, h ...

as Dr. Blind *

Hans Alexander Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...

as Gefangener * Günter Beurenmeister as Verehrer * Kurt Bobeth-Bolander as Bersitz * Ursula Dücker as Dame * Christine Fischer as Dame * Walter Grimm as Herr * Ernst Paul Hempel as Briefträger * Hella Jansen as Dame * Günter Klostermann as Offizier * Gerhard Lau as Diener *

Anna Lindemann Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th ce ...

as Dame * Herbert Mewes-Conti as Verehrer * Walter Salow as Diener *

Nico Turoff Nico Turoff ( Ukrainian: Ніко Турофф; 6 December 1899 – 22 June 1978) was a Ukrainian boxer and actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1926 to 1979. Selected filmography References External links * 1899 b ...

as Diener * Ernst Ullrich as Gefangener * Inka Unverzagt as Dame * Teddy Wulff as Verehrer

References

Bibliography

* Liehm, Mira & Liehm, Antonín J. ''The Most Important Art: Eastern European Film After 1945''. University of California Press, 1977.

External links

* 1955 films 1950s German-language films German historical musical films 1950s historical musical films East German films Operetta films Films based on Die Fledermaus Films set in the 1870s Films set in Vienna 1950s German films German-language historical musical films {{historic-musical-film-stub