''Alarm in the Circus'' (german: Alarm im Zirkus) is an

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by Gerhard Klein. It was released in 1954.

Plot

Klaus and Max are two poor boys from West Berlin, whose families are to poor to pay for their higher education. They face a bleak future. Their only hobby is boxing, and they are both desperate to purchase real boxing gloves. The two meet Klott, a gangster who owns a bar that serves American soldiers. Klott offers to pay them if they would assist him to steal valuable horses from a circus in East Berlin. The two agree and travel to the Soviet zone, where they meet a girl named Helli, a member of the

Free German Youth The Free German Youth (german: Freie Deutsche Jugend; FDJ) is a youth movement in Germany. Formerly, it was the official youth movement of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The organization was meant ...

, who explains to them that in the communist east, the lack of money will not bar their way to education. The two realize the error of their ways, contact the People's Police and help the officers hinder Klott's plans and arrest the other thieves working for him. The two remain in East Berlin.

Cast

Erwin Geschonneck Erwin Geschonneck (27 December 1906 – 12 March 2008) was a German actor. His biggest success occurred in the German Democratic Republic, where he was considered one of the most famous actors of the time. Early life Geschonneck was born in Bart ...

as Klott * Uwe-Jens Pape as Jimmy * Karl Kendzia as Batta * Ulrich Thein as Herbert *

Hans Winter 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 ...

as Klaus *

Ernst-Georg Schwill Ernst-Georg Schwill (30 March 1939 - 9 April 2020) was a German actor, best known for his performance as ''Kohle'' in the 1957 film ''Berlin, Schoenhauser Corner'' and as ''Lutz Weber'' in ''Tatort ''Tatort'' ("Crime scene") is a German la ...

as Max * Gertrud Keller as Helli * Annelise Matschulat as Mrs. Weigel *

Siegfried Weiß Siegfried Weiss (18 April 1906 – 8 October 1989) was an East German actor. Biography Weiss made his artistic debut on the stage of the Halberstadt Theater, at 1924. He continued his career in the theaters of Lübeck, Königsberg, Magdeburg, L ...

as Hepfield *

Peter Dornseif Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

as Police officer * Günther Haack as Catcher *

Horst Giese Horst Fritz Otto Giese (31 January 1926 – 29 December 2008) was an East German actor. Biography In 1945, Giese made his debut on stage at his native Neuruppin, then in the Soviet occupation zone. Later he appeared on television. His first role ...

as uncredited role

Production

''Alarm in the Circus'' was the first of the so-called "Berlin films", a trilogy of pictures that were made in collaboration between director Gerhard Klein and writer Wolfgang Kohlhaase, that were notable for their pioneering of neorealism in German cinema and for the manner in which they reflected the reality of the city in the years before the building of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

, that was critical of the Americanization of its western side. It was followed by the sequels '' A Berlin Romance'' (1956) and '' Berlin - Schönhauser Corner'' (1957).

Reception

''Alarm in the Circus'' was viewed by 3.6 million people in 1954, becoming the highest-grossing East German film of the year, and sold 5,515,078 tickets in total. sold Klein and Kohlhaase both won the National Prize, 3rd degree, for their work on the film. The Catholic Film Service defined the film as "exciting, well-made crime film that presents the background of a divided Berlin in a highly authentic manner." Peter C. Rollins and John E. O'Connor wrote that it had "drawn a clear contrast between the city's halves that fit the official communist paradigm."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0046691, title=Alarm in the Circus
''Alarm in the Circus'' original poster
on ostfilm.de. *

' on filmportal.de. *

' on cinema.de 1954 films 1954 crime films German crime films DEFA films 1950s German-language films Films set in Berlin German black-and-white films German children's films Circus films 1950s children's films 1950s German films