''Capers'' (German: ''Capriolen'') is a 1937 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 and starring

Gustaf Gründgens Gustaf Gründgens (; 22 December 1899 – 7 October 1963), born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg ...

and also featuring

Marianne Hoppe Marianne Hoppe (26 April 1909 – 23 October 2002) was a German theatre and film actress. Life and work Born in Rostock, Hoppe became a leading lady of stage and films in Germany. She was born into a wealthy landowning family and was initiall ...

Fita Benkhoff Fita Benkhoff (1 November 1901 – 26 October 1967) was a German actress. Life Benkhoff was born in 1901. In the 1920s the actress Louise Dumont separated from her husband. Dumont was attached to a number of young actresses including Benkh ...

and

Volker von Collande Volker von Collande (21 November 1913 – 29 October 1990) was a German actor and film director. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1934 and 1987. He also directed more than 20 films between 1942 and 1967. Collande was a member of t ...

. It was shot at the

Johannisthal Studios The Johannisthal Studios were film studios located in the Berlin area of Johannisthal. Founded in 1920 on the site of a former airfield, they were a centre of production during the Weimar and Nazi eras. Nearly four hundred films were made at Joha ...

in Berlin.Loacker p.625 The film's sets were designed by the art directors Kurt Herlth and

Werner Schlichting Werner Schlichting (1904–1996) was a German art director who worked on over a hundred films during a lengthy career. He worked on a number of Austrian films including '' The Congress Dances'' and '' The Last Ten Days'' (1955).Fritsche p.253 Sel ...

. It was produced and released by

Terra Film Terra Film was a Berlin-based film production company. Founded in 1919, it became one of Germany's largest film production companies in the 1930s under the Nazi regime. Corporate history The company was founded at end of 1919, initially as a li ...

while international distribution was handled by

Tobis Film Tobis Film was a German film production and film distribution company. Founded in the late 1920s as a merger of several companies involved in the switch from silent to sound films, the organisation emerged as a leading German sound studio. Tob ...

Synopsis

Celebrated journalist Jack Warren is tired of interviewing self-regarding famous woman. When he encounters the actress Dorothy Hopkins, he mistakes her for the famous

aviatrix An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they ar ...

Mabel Atkinson and in turn mistakes the real Mabel for somebody else.

Cast

as Mabel Atkinson *

as Jack Warren *

as Peggy MacFarland *

Maria Bard Maria Bard (7 July 1900 – April 1944) was a German stage actress, who made a handful of films in the silent era for Rimax, her first husband Wilhelm Graaff's company. By 1930, her marriage with Graaff was over, and she appeared with Werner K ...

as Dorothy Hopkins *

as William Baxter *

Hans Leibelt Hans Leibelt (11 March 1885 in Leipzig, German Empire – 3 December 1974 in Munich, West Germany) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * ''Heimliche Sünder'' (1926) * '' The False Prince'' (1927) * ''The Man in Search of His Mur ...

as Neville * Franz Weber as Simpson *

Max Gülstorff Max Walter Gülstorff (23 March 1882 – 6 February 1947) was a German actor and stage director. Biography Gülstorff was born in Tilsit, East Prussia. He first appeared in 1900 at the Rudolstadt municipal Theater and moved to Cottbus in 1908. ...

as Rechtsanwalt *

Paul Henckels Paul Henckels (9 September 1885 – 27 May 1967) was a German film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1921 and 1965. Paul Henckels had started his acting career on the stage in the 1900s. He was well known for his e ...

as Rechtsanwalt *

Albert Florath Albert Peter Adam Florath (7 December 1888, Bielefeld – 11 March 1957, Gaildorf) was a German stage and film actor. Early life and education Born to Joseph Florath, a locksmith, and his wife Matilda, née Burkart, he attended school in Brakel ...

as Der Richter *

Elsa Wagner Elsa Wagner (24 January 1881 – 17 August 1975) was a German actress who appeared in numerous theatrical productions and feature films during the 20th century, including 1920's '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari''. Life and career Born as Elisab ...

as Dame beim Zahnarzt * Eva Tinschmann as Zimmervermieterin *

Erich Dunskus Erich Adolf Dunskus (27 July 1890 – 25 November 1967) was a German film actor. He appeared in 170 films between 1927 and 1966. He was born in Pillkallen, East Prussia and died in Hagen, Germany. Selected filmography * '' The King of Pa ...

as Schornsteinfeger *

Otto Graf Otto Graf (28 November 1896 – 22 February 1977) was a German actor. He appeared in more than 50 films and television shows between 1935 and 1970. Partial filmography * ''Nacht der Verwandlung'' (1935) as René Duval * '' The Traitor'' ( ...

as Zahnarzt * Walter Gross as Bildberichterstatter *

Clemens Hasse Clemens Hasse (13 April 1908 – 28 July 1959) was a German actor and synchroniser. Biography Hasse was born in Königsberg, East Prussia to a public official and attended his stage education at the ''Preussisches Staatstheater'' in Berlin. B ...

as Funker * Erika Streithorst as Assistantin *

Ernst Behmer Ernst Behmer (22 December 1875 – 26 February 1938) was a prolific German stage and film actor who appeared in more than a hundred films during the silent and early sound eras. Behmer was born in Königsberg, East-Prussia, Germany (now Kalin ...

as Pfarrer * Wolf Trutz as Herr beim Zahnarzt

References

Bibliography

* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009. * Hake, Sabine. ''German National Cinema''. Routledge, 2002. * Loacker, Armin. '' Willi Forst: ein Filmstil aus Wien''. Filmarchiv Austria, 2003. * Rentschler, Eric. ''The Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema and Its Afterlife''. Harvard University Press, 1996.

External links

* 1937 films Films of Nazi Germany 1930s German-language films Films directed by Gustaf Gründgens 1930s German films German comedy films 1937 comedy films Terra Film films Films shot at Johannisthal Studios {{1930s-Germany-film-stub de:Kapriolen