''A Hopeless Case'' (german: Ein hoffnungsloser Fall) is a 1939 German

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Erich Engel Erich Gustav Otto Engel (14 February 1891 – 10 May 1966) was a German film and theatre director.He is often confused with another German film director called Erich Engels, who specialised in comedy, and crime films. Biography Engel was ...

and starring

Jenny Jugo Jenny Jugo (born Eugenie Walter; 14 June 1905 – 30 September 2001) was an Austrian actress. She appeared in more than fifty films between 1925 and 1950. Biography Jenny Jugo was born Eugenie Walter on 14 June 1905, the daughter of a factory ...

Karl Ludwig Diehl Karl Ludwig Diehl (14 August 1896 – 8 March 1958) was a German film actor. He appeared in 66 films between 1924 and 1957. His father was Karl Diehl, the German professor of Anarchism. Filmography * ''Die Tragödie der Entehrten'' (1924) ...

and Hannes Stelzer. The film's sets were designed by Karl Weber.

Synopsis

A determined female

medical student A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

Berlin University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

resists the advances of her professor, single-mindedly concentrating on her chosen profession. She then sails to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

with her true love, fellow student who the Professor has arranged to be sent there to try and get out of the way.

Cast

as Jenny *

as Professor Dr. Bruchsal * Hannes Stelzer as Hans Faber *

Leo Peukert Leonhard "Leo" Peukert (26 August 1885 – 6 January 1944) was a prolific German film actor and film director, appearing in more than a hundred and fifty productions between 1910 and his death in 1944. While occasionally he played a leading role i ...

as Jennys Vater *

Axel von Ambesser Axel Eugen Alexander von Oesterreich (22 June 1910 – 6 September 1988), better known as Axel von Ambesser, was a German playwright, actor and film director. Ambesser's father was Alexander Constantin von Oesterreich. Ambesser was born in Hambur ...

as Verehrer *

Heinz Salfner Heinz Salfner (31 December 1877 – 13 October 1945) was a German stage and film actor. Salfner appeared in more than sixty films during his career. He played the lead in the 1932 crime film '' A Shot at Dawn''.Youngkin p.465 Selected filmography ...

as Diener *

Theodor Danegger Theodor Danegger (31 August 1891 – 11 October 1959) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1932 and 1959. He was born in Lienz, Austria and died in Vienna, Austria. Selected filmography * ''Without Witnesse ...

as Gotthelf Matthias *

Josefine Dora Josefine Dora (born Isidora Emilie Friese; 13 November 1867 – 28 May 1944) was an Austrian stage and film actress. She appeared in over 100 films, generally in supporting roles such as in ''The Virtuous Sinner'' (1931).Prawer p.137 Selected f ...

as Emma Matthias * Hans Richter as Student *

Erik Ode Erik Ode (born Fritz Erik Signy Odemar, 6 November 1910 – 19 July 1983) was a German director and actor who was most famous for playing Kommissar ''Herbert Keller'' in the German television drama '' Der Kommissar'' (The Police Inspector). He mar ...

as Student *

Julia Serda Julia Serda (6 April 1875 – 3 December 1965) was an Austrian stage and film actress.Grange p.120 She was married to the actor Hans Junkermann. Biography Julia Serda was born on 6 April 1875 in Vienna. She became fascinated by the stage at an ea ...

Frida Richard Frida Richard (born Friederike Raithel, 1 November 1873 – 12 September 1946) was an Austrian actress. Selected filmography * ''The Sin of Helga Arndt'' (1916) * '' The Queen's Love Letter'' (1916) * '' The Marriage of Luise Rohrbach'' (1917) * ...

Gustav Waldau Gustav Waldau (27 February 1871 – 25 May 1958) was a German actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1915 and 1955. Selected filmography * '' The Gentleman Without a Residence'' (1915) * ''In Thrall to the Claw'' (1921) * ''The ...

Werner Pledath Werner Pledath (26 April 1898 – 6 December 1965) was a German actor who appeared in many films during a lengthy career. He generally played supporting roles such as in '' Five from the Jazz Band'' (1932).Youngkin p.465 Pledath specialized in pla ...

Trivia

On 14 March 1939,

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

summoned

Emil Hácha Emil Dominik Josef Hácha (12 July 1872 – 27 June 1945) was a Czech lawyer, the president of Czechoslovakia from November 1938 to March 1939. In March 1939, after the breakup of Czechoslovakia, Hácha was the nominal president of the newly pro ...

, President of Czechoslovakia to Berlin for talks. The meeting was scheduled late at night and was to include, apart from Hitler,

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

and

Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler's not ...

. The elderly Hácha was humiliated by being deliberately kept waiting for hours, because Hitler was at that time watching the film ''A Hopeless Case'', which ended past midnight. He was summoned by Hitler at 1:15 AM, who informed him that German troops would march into

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

at 6:00 AM, on the pretext that the Czechs were disturbing the peace in Europe. In the antechamber, Göring and Ribbentrop pressed Hácha to sign a document legalizing the invasion. When Hácha hesitated, Göring threatened to bomb Prague, whereupon Hácha fainted. Revived by injection, Hácha signed a document in the presence of Hitler accepting the

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

and

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

Czech lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands ( cs, České země ) are the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia. Together the three have formed the Czech part of Czechoslovakia since 1918, the Czech Socialist Republic since 1 ...

into the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, which began in the early morning of 15 March 1939.

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1939 films 1939 comedy films German comedy films Films of Nazi Germany 1930s German-language films Films directed by Erich Engel Films set in Berlin Films set in universities and colleges German black-and-white films 1930s German films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub