''Charley's Aunt'' (german: Charleys Tante) is a 1956 West 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

Hans Quest Hans Quest (1915–1997) was a German actor and film director. Selected filmography Director *''Wenn der Vater mit dem Sohne'' (1955) *''The Happy Wanderer'' (1955) *''Charley's Aunt'' (1956) *'' Wenn Poldi ins Manöver zieht'' (1956) *'' Ein Man ...

and starring

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 ...

Hertha Feiler Hertha Feiler (3 August 1916, Vienna – 1 November 1970, Munich) was an Austrian actress. She was married to the comedian Heinz Rühmann with whom she starred in several films. She was of Jewish descent. Filmography * '' Darling of the Sailors ...

and

Claus Biederstaedt Claus Biederstaedt (28 June 1928 – 18 June 2020) was a German actor. He studied in Hamburg and began his career working with Joseph Offenbach. Among the actors for whom he dubbed were Yves Montand, Peter Falk, Marlon Brando, Vittorio Gassma ...

.Bock & Bergfelder p.340 It is an adaptation of the 1892 British play ''

Charley's Aunt ''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot inc ...

'' by

Brandon Thomas Brandon Thomas may refer to: *Brandon Thomas (playwright) (1848–1914), English actor and playwright who wrote the hit farce, ''Charley's Aunt'' *Brandon Thomas (musician) (born 1980), American rock band singer *Brandon Thomas (American football), ...

. It was made at the

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land ...

and

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 and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Hans Kuhnert Hans Kuhnert (4 January 1901 – 29 July 1974) was a German actor, art director and production designer. Kuhnert began his career as an actor during the silent era. He played the lead alongside Olga Tschechowa in ''Violet''.Hardt p.225 From the mi ...

and Peter Schlewski. It was shot in

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

Plot

Commercial Attaché Dr. Otto Dernburg came to Germany from South America for business negotiations. His eye falls on the attractive millionaire Carlotta Ramirez. But first he visits his younger brother Ralf, who lives in an attic apartment with his friend Charley. The two are expecting the attractive Swedes Ulla and Britta, but are afraid of their strict uncle Niels. Charley's unknown aunt, who also wanted to come, apologized at short notice. But Britta and Ulla don't want to stay alone with the two men. For the sake of his brother and to save the evening, Dr. Dernburg as Charley's aunt. The situation becomes increasingly complicated when Charley's father and uncle Niels show up. However, the fake aunt manages to placate both of them. Finally, the real aunt appears, who is none other than Carlotta Ramirez. At first she is very piqued because the wrong aunt is wearing the dress that Dernburg's butler had stolen shortly before. She embarrasses the fake aunt, but doesn't let her get caught. Only when the women have left does Dr. Dernburg. The next day, Carlotta shows herself in the dress Dernburg wore the night before. She shows him that she saw through him, but doesn't hold grudges against him.

Cast

as Doctor Otto Dernburg *

as Carlotta Ramirez *

as Ralf Dernburg *

Walter Giller Walter Giller (23 August 1927 – 15 December 2011) was a German actor. He was very successful in the 1950s and 1960s, when he was often seen as a comedic leading man. One of his most successful and more serious roles was in ''Roses for the Pros ...

as Charley Sallmann *

Ruth Stephan Ruth Stephan (27 October 1925 – 8 August 1975) was a German film and stage actress. She appeared with Heinz Erhardt in the 'Willi' series of films. Biography Ruth Stephan was born to retail merchant Kurt Stephan and his wife, Kriemhilde. A ...

as Mona *

Bum Krüger Bum Krüger (born ''Willy Krüger''; 13 March 1906 - 15 March 1971) was a German actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1948 to 1969. Filmography References External links * 1906 births 1971 deaths German male film ...

as Peter *

Hans Olden Hans Olden (1892–1975) was an Austrian stage and film actor. Olden appeared in more than eighty films during his career, mostly in Austria but occasionally also in Germany. He was a supporter of the Austrian Nazi Party, his interest in Nazism p ...

as Wolke *

Ina Peters Ina Peters (1928–2004) was an Austrian stage and film actress.Goble p.195 Selected filmography * '' Bon Voyage'' (1954) * ''André and Ursula'' (1955) * ''Kitty and the Great Big World'' (1956) * ''Charley's Aunt'' (1956) * ''The Spessart Inn' ...

as Britta Nielsen * Elisa Loti as Ulla Bergström *

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 Murd ...

as Niels Bergström *

Paul Hörbiger Paul Hörbiger (29 April 1894 – 5 March 1981) was an Austrian theatre and film actor. Life and work Paul Hörbiger was born in the Hungarian capital Budapest, then part of Austria-Hungary, the son of engineer Hanns Hörbiger, founder of the ...

as August Sallmann *

Helmuth Rudolph Helmuth Rudolph (1900–1971) was a German actor. Selected filmography * '' So Ended a Great Love'' (1934) * ''The Last Waltz'' (1934) * ''Blum Affair'' (1948) * ''Blocked Signals'' (1948) * ''Love '47'' (1949) * ''The Prisoner'' (1949) * ''Don't ...

as Consul general *

Hilde von Stolz Hilde von Stolz (8 July 1903 in Segesvár, Nagy-Küküllő County, Austria-Hungary, now Romania – 16 December 1973 in Berlin) was an Austrian-German actress. Von Stolz attended the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna and made her debut at the local ...

as Consul general's wife *

Wolfgang Neuss Wolfgang Neuss (3 December 1923 – 5 May 1989) was a German actor and Kabarett artist. Beginning in the mid-1960s, he also became famous for his political engagement, first for the SPD, then for the extra-parliamentary opposition, ''APO''. H ...

as Head porter *

Ewald Wenck Ewald Wenck (28 December 1891 – 3 April 1981) was a German actor. He appeared in more than 230 films and television shows between 1919 and 1978. Selected filmography * ''We Stick Together Through Thick and Thin'' (1929) * ''Spoiling the ...

as Hotel concierge *

Wolfgang Condrus Wolfgang Condrus (né Wolfgang Breuer; born 1941) is a German film and television actor.Figge & Ward p.65 Selected filmography * '' Turtledove General Delivery'' (1952) * '' Mailman Mueller'' (1953) * '' We'll Talk About Love Later'' (1953) * ' ...

as bell boy *

Wulf Rittscher ''Wulf'' (Common Germanic "wolf") was one of the most prolific elements in early Germanic names. It could figure as the first element in dithematic names, as in '' Wulfstan'', but especially as second element, in the form ''-ulf, -olf'' as in ...

as Night club owner *

Wolfgang Völz Wolfgang Otto Völz (16 August 1930 – 2 May 2018) was a German actor. He is known for his roles in theatre plays, TV shows, feature films (especially German films based on Edgar Wallace works) and taped radio shows. He was also a very prolif ...

as Police man

References

Bibliography

* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

* 1956 films West German films 1956 comedy films German comedy films 1950s German-language films Films directed by Hans Quest Films based on Charley's Aunt Films shot at Spandau Studios Films shot at Tempelhof Studios Films shot in Berlin Constantin Film films 1950s German films {{1950s-comedy-film-stub