''The Simple Girl'' () is a 1957

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

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

Werner Jacobs Werner Jacobs (1909–1999) was a German film director and film editor, editor. He was born in Berlin on the 24 April 1909. He is best known for his contributions to Modebummel (1951), Der Stern von Santa Clara (1958) and André und Ursula (1955). ...

and produced by

Artur Brauner Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; 1 August 1918 – 7 July 2019) was a German film producer and entrepreneur of Polish origin. He produced more than 300 films from 1946. Life and career He was born the oldest son of a Jewish family ...

. It starred

Caterina Valente Caterina Germaine Maria Valente (14 January 1931 – 9 September 2024) was an Italian-French multilingual singer, guitarist, and dancer. She spoke six languages and sang in 13. While she was best known as a performer in Europe, Valente spent pa ...

Rudolf Prack Rudolf Prack (2 August 1905 – 2 December 1981) was an Austrian film actor. Selected filmography * ''Florentine'' (1937) * ''Prinzessin Sissy'' (1939) - Prince Luitpold * '' A Mother's Love'' (1939) - Felix Pirlinger - 1922 * ''Krambambuli'' ( ...

and Ruth Stephan.

Production

The film was directed by German director

and produced by

. It is based on an idea by Curth Flatow who also wrote the screenplay, together with . The working title was ''Bravo, Caterina''. Horst Wendlandt was line producer and Brauner's wife, Maria, was in charge of costume design. Filming took place in May 1957 at the

Spandau Studios The Spandau Studios or CCC Studios were film and television studios located in Spandau, a suburb of Berlin. They were established in 1949 following the Second World War by the producer Artur Brauner controller of CCC Films, on the site of a forme ...

in Berlin. 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 ...

Emil Hasler Emil Hasler (8 November 1901 – 15 January 1986) was a German art director who worked on more than a hundred films during his career. These included a number of Weimar classics such as '' Diary of a Lost Girl, M'' and ''The Blue Angel''.Prawer ...

and

Paul Markwitz Paul Markwitz (16 July 1908 – 19 March 1968)Kay Weniger: Das große Personenlexikon des Films Volume 5, Berlin 2001, , pg. 281f was a German production designer, art director and set decorator. He worked on over 50 films between 1935 and 1 ...

. The film premiered on 23 August 1957 at the Thalia in Wiesbaden.

Plot

Caterina Bastiani, a talented young actress, is offered the leading role in a musical. This is her big break but the author of the novel on which the musical is based is less than pleased about this adaptation — and he does not think much of Caterina. By accident Caterina meets a girl who has applied to work for the author as a maid. She takes the girl's place in order to prove her talent as an actress and shows up at the author's home as the new maid herself.

Cast

as Caterina Bastiani *

as Thomas Krauss * Ruth Stephan as Milli *

Rudolf Platte Rudolf Antonius Heinrich Platte (12 February 1904 – 18 December 1984) was a German actor. Biography Born in Hörde, Westphalia (today part of Dortmund) the son of a merchant, his family moved to Hildesheim three years later. Rudolf left scho ...

as Werner Pätzold *

Dorit Kreysler Dorit Kreysler (1909–1999) was an Austrian film actress.Goble p.338 She spent much of her career in the German film industry. Filmography References Bibliography * Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter d ...

as Mrs. Seidel *

Helen Vita Helen Vita (7 August 1928 in Hohenschwangau – 16 February 2001 in Berlin) was a Swiss chanson singer, actress, and comedian. In 1966 Vita recorded ''Freche Chansons aus dem alten Frankreich'', traditional French chansons translated into German. T ...

as Eva Krapke * Peter W. Staub as Pit * Stefan Haar as Jürgen Krauss *

Richard Allan Richard Beecroft Allan, Baron Allan of Hallam (born 11 February 1966), is a British politician. He was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam from 1997 to 2005. He was made a life peer in the 2010 Dissolution Honour ...

as Robert Holden *

Hans Olden Hans Olden (1892–1975) was an Austrian stage and film actor. Olden appeared in more than eighty films during his career, mostly in Austria but occasionally also in Germany. He was a supporter of the Austrian Nazi Party, his interest in Nazism ...

as Anton Schwarz * Franz-Otto Krüger as Regisseur *

Henry Lorenzen Henry Lorenzen (8 February 1899 – 22 September 1961) was a Danish film actor.Giesen p.199 Selected filmography * ''Girls of Today (1933 film), Girls of Today'' (1933) * ''The Champion of Pontresina'' (1934) * ''Roses from the South (1934 film) ...

as Komponist Heino Kies *

Herbert Weißbach Herbert Weißbach (12 November 1901 – 13 October 1995) was a German actor, cabaret artist, and voice actor. Born in Bernburg, he appeared in more than 240 films and television shows between 1935 and 1994. Selected filmography * ''Donog ...

as Baron Westhoff * Edith Adana as Baronin Westhoff

References

Bibliography

* Hans-Michael Bock and Tim Bergfelder. ''The Concise Cinegraph: An Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

*
Artur-Brauner-Archive at the Deutsches Filmmuseum in Frankfurt (German), containing the production files for this movie
1957 films 1957 musical comedy films German musical comedy films West German films 1950s German-language films Films directed by Werner Jacobs Gloria Film films Films shot at Spandau Studios 1950s German films {{1950s-Germany-musical-comedy-film-stub