''Black Gravel'' (German: ''Schwarzer Kies'') is a 1961 West German

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Helmut Käutner Helmut Käutner (25 March 1908 – 20 April 1980) was a German film director active mainly in the 1940s and 1950s. He entered the film industry at the end of the Weimar Republic and released his first films as a director in Nazi Germany. Käu ...

and starring

Ingmar Zeisberg Ingmar Zeisberg (born 17 February 1933) is a German actress. She appeared in more than thirty films since 1954. Selected filmography References External links * 1933 births Living people German film actresses 20th-century German a ...

and

Anita Höfer Anita Höfer (born 1944) is a German film and television actress.Cowie & Elley p.150 She has also worked as a voice actress, dubbing foreign films for release in the German market. Selected filmography * '' Via Mala'' (1961) * '' Black Gravel'' ...

. The screenplay was written by Käutner and

Walter Ulbrich Walter Ulbrich (15 June 1910 – 13 November 1991) was a German film producer primarily known for writing and/or producing 10 of 16 four-part adventure mini-series made for West German TV in the 1960s and 1970s. Mostly based on classics of worl ...

. The film was shot in Lautzenhausen, Germany. The film's sets were designed by the art director. While the interiors were 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 bac ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

took place at

Hahn Air Base Hahn Air Base was a United States Air Force installation near Lautzenhausen in Germany for over 40 years. The major unit was the United States Air Force's 50th Tactical Fighter Wing during most of the years it was active. It was originally buil ...

Plot

The story takes place in postwar Germany, following Germany's loss in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. For years, people struggled with shortages of everything, housing, water, food, clothing. A military base for several thousand American soldiers is going to be built in the village of Sohnen. The locals eye them suspiciously, nonetheless recognizing the economic potential. Numerous individuals find ways to serve (and service) the Americans, turning barns into bars, becoming prostitutes, building the new airbase. Robert Neidhardt, who owns a truck, starts selling gravel on the black market. Robert flees during a police raid, causing a fatal accident. He keeps going, fleeing further, becoming more ruthless, causing the death of a couple. Lautz

Charges of antisemitism

Käutner attempted to show postwar Germany as it was, gritty, smarting from defeat, still encumbered by antisemitism, despite the denazification efforts. However, the

Central Council of Jews in Germany The Central Council of Jews in Germany (German name: Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) is a federation of German Jews. It was founded on 19 July 1950, as a response to the increasing isolation of German Jews by the international Jewish communi ...

protested against the film and filed a criminal complaint, labeling the portrayal of

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

as the expression of it and citing the treatment of a character (Loeb) who is a Nazi concentration camp survivor and who is called a "dirty Jew" by "der alte Rössler" ("old man Rössler"). Though the director and producer said the Council misunderstood their intent, and the general secretary of the Council said he found the movie "much more anti-German than anti-Jewish," all the scenes with Jewish references were cut from the film. In an issue of '' Der Spiegel'' published at the time the movie was released, an article called "Slice of Life" ("Eine Scheibe Leben"), begins with the scene in question. Not until 2009 was the originally premiered film shown again, after an uncut version was uncovered.

Partial cast

Helmut Wildt Helmut Wildt (9 April 1922 – 4 October 2007) was a German stage, film and television actor.Goble p.502 Selected filmography * '' Black Gravel'' (1961) * '' Life Begins at Eight'' (1962) * ''The Lightship'' (1963) * ''Piccadilly Zero Hour 12'' ...

as Robert Neidhardt *

as Inge Gaines *Hans Cossy as John Gaines *

Wolfgang Büttner Wolfgang Büttner (1 June 1912 - 18 November 1990) was a German actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1950 to 1998. Filmography References External links * 1912 births 1990 deaths German male film actors {{Ge ...

as Otto Krahne *

as Elli * Gisela Fischer as Margot *

Ilse Pagé Ilse Pagé (29 May 1939 – 19 June 2017) was a German film and television actress. Selected filmography * '' Berlin, Schoenhauser Corner'' (1957) - Angela * ''Arzt aus Leidenschaft'' (1959) - Ein junges Mädchen * ''...und noch frech dazu!'' (1 ...

as Karla *Heinrich Trimbur as Eric Moeller *Peter Nestler as Bill Rodgers *Edeltraud Elsner as Anni Peel *Else Knott as Frau Marbach *Guy Gehrke as Wiechers, Jr. *Karl Luley as "der alte" Rössler *Max Buchsbaum as Loeb

References

External links

*
''Wiederentdeckt 149: Schwarzer Kies''
CineGraph

{{Helmut Käutner 1961 drama films German drama films West German films Films directed by Helmut Käutner Films shot at Tempelhof Studios UFA GmbH films 1960s German films 1960s German-language films

Plot

Charges of antisemitism

Partial cast

See also

References

External links