''Wenn der Vater mit dem Sohne'' is a 1955 West German film directed by

Hans Quest Hans Quest (August 20, 1915 – March 29, 1997) was a German actor and film director. Selected filmography Director *''Wenn der Vater mit dem Sohne'' (1955) *''The Happy Wanderer (1955 film), The Happy Wanderer'' (1955) *''Charley's Aunt (1956 ...

. It was shot 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 ...

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 ...

Plot summary

Teddy Lemke is a lodger with Miss Biermann. She has taken six-year-old Ulli into her care, whose mother emigrated to America. Teddy Lemke takes good care of the little Ulli – as if he were his own son. When Ulli surprises Teddy with a children's clown costume, which he accidentally found in the attic, Teddy hesitantly tells the story of his life: Formerly he was a famous clown who performed together with his son. When the boy died, Teddy ended his career. Ulli persuades Teddy to return to the stage, and from then on they perform together. Their immediate success leads to an offer for a longer engagement. At this moment Ulli's mother Gerti, who is now married, returns from America to take Ulli back with her. Teddy flees with Ulli from Berlin to Switzerland, pursued by the child's mother, her husband, and several assistants. Finally Ulli moves with his parents to America, and Teddy, who reluctantly comes to terms with it, gives a sad solo performance at the end.

Cast

Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...

as Teddy Lemke *

Oliver Grimm Oliver Grimm (born 16 April 1969) is a Swiss gymnast. He competed in eight events at the 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an i ...

as Ulli *

Waltraut Haas Waltraut Haas (9 June 1927 – 23 April 2025) was an Austrian actress and singer who appeared in around 70 films. She gained recognition in her first film, as Mariandl in '' Der Hofrat Geiger'' in 1947, and starred alongside Peter Alexander in 1 ...

as Gerti *

Robert Freitag Robert Peter Freytag (7 April 1916 in Vienna – 8 July 2010 in Munich), known professionally as Robert Freitag, was an Austrian-Swiss stage and screen actor and film director. Life Freitag was the son of the Swiss opera singer Otto Freitag (Ott ...

as Roy Bentley * Sybil Werden as Jane *

Fita Benkhoff Fita Benkhoff (1 November 1901 – 26 October 1967) was a German actress. Life Benkhoff was born in 1901. She appeared in more than 100 films between 1933 and 1967. When the actress Louise Dumont separated from her husband in the 1920s, Be ...

as Fräulein Biermann *

Carl-Heinz Schroth Carl-Heinz Schroth (29 June 1902 – 19 July 1989) was a German actor and film director. He appeared in 60 films between 1931 and 1989. He also directed seven films between 1953 and 1963. He was born in Innsbruck, Austria, to Else Ruttershei ...

as Peepe * Pero Alexander as Donald Crossman *

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 Miller – Agent * Hans Schwarz Jr. as Samson *

Rudolf Schündler Rudolf Ernst Paul Schündler (17 April 1906, in Leipzig – 12 December 1988, in Munich) was a German actor and director. He played "Karl" in ''The Exorcist'' (1973). After finishing the film ''The Nasty Girl'', Schündler died of a heart attac ...

as Herr im Laden *Heidi Becker as Helga * Arnim Dahl as Kunstspringer

Soundtrack

René Carol Gerhard Tschierschnitz, known as René Carol (Berlin, 11 April 1920 - Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the c ...

and Detlev Lais "La-Le-Lu" (Music by

Heino Gaze Heino Gaze (20 February 1908 – 24 October 1967) was a German composer.Fritsche p.249 He worked on more than thirty film scores during his career. He composed "La Le Lu (nur der Mann im Mond schaut zu)", sung by Heinz Rühmann in the film Wenn ...

, lyrics by

Bruno Balz Bruno Balz (6 October 1902 – 14 March 1988) was a German songwriter and schlager writer. From the time he wrote the music for the first German sound film until his retirement in the 1960s, Balz was responsible for the lyrics to over a thousand ...

)

External links

* * 1955 films 1955 comedy-drama films German comedy-drama films West German films 1950s German-language films Films directed by Hans Quest Circus films Constantin Film films Films shot at Tempelhof Studios 1950s German films Films scored by Heino Gaze German-language comedy-drama films {{1950s-Germany-film-stub