''Der Postmeister'' (English: ''The Postmaster'' or ''The Stationmaster'') is a 1940

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

film directed by

Gustav Ucicky Gustav Ucicky (6 July 1899 – 27 April 1961) was an Austrians, Austrian film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He was one of the more successful directors in Austria and Germany from the 1930s through to the early 1960s. His work cov ...

. Released during the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...

, it depicts Russians in a sympathetic light, unlike their depiction in such films as ''

Frisians in Peril ''Frisians in Peril'' (German: ''Friesennot'') is a 1935 German drama film directed by Peter Hagen and starring Friedrich Kayßler, Jessie Vihrog and Valéry Inkijinoff. Made for Nazi propaganda purposes, it concerns a village of ethnic Frisians ...

'' before or ''

GPU A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobi ...

'' after.

Erwin Leiser Erwin Leiser (May 16, 1923 – August 22, 1996) was a German-born Jew and director, writer, and actor. Born and raised in Berlin, he fled to Sweden at the age of 15 to escape the Nazi Party. He graduated from the University of Lund and worked as a ...

, ''Nazi Cinema'' p43 It was very loosely based on ''The Station Master'', an 1831 short story from ''

The Belkin Tales ''The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin'' (russian: «По́вести поко́йного Ива́на Петро́вича Бе́лкина», 1831) is a series of five short stories and a fictional editorial introduction by Russian autho ...

'' series by

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

. It was remade in 1955 as '' Dunja''. An earlier version was the French film ''

Nostalgie Nostalgie is a popular French radio station broadcasting on FM, mostly playing pre-2000s songs with 76% of them coming from the 1980s. Nostalgie is part of the NRJ Group. History Radio Nostalgie, now simply Nostalgie, was created on 16 Septemb ...

'' (1938) with

Harry Baur Harry Baur (12 April 1880 – 8 April 1943) was a French actor. Initially a stage actor, Baur appeared in about 80 films between 1909 and 1942. He gave an acclaimed performance as the composer Ludwig van Beethoven in the biopic ''Beethoven's Gr ...

, directed by

Victor Tourjansky The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

. 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 ...

Kurt Herlth Kurt Herlth (1896–1966) was a German art director known for his designs of film sets. His brother Robert Herlth was also an art director active in the German film industry, and the two men worked together a number of times.Bock & Bergfelder p.1 ...

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 Sele ...

. It was made in German-occupied Austria by the

Wien Film Wien-Film GmbH ("Vienna Film Limited") was a large Austrian film company, which in 1938 succeeded the Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie AG (Sascha Film Company) and lasted until 1985. Until 1945 the business was owned by the Cautio Trust Company (''Cauti ...

company, and distributed by the

UFA Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...

concern. At the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

, ''Der Postmeister'' won the

Mussolini Cup The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

for best foreign film.

Plot

The daughter of a stationmaster falls in love with a cavalry captain. He persuades her to run away with him to St. Petersburg, but she realizes there that he never intended to marry her.

Cast

Heinrich George Georg August Friedrich Hermann Schulz (9 October 1893 – 25 September 1946), better known as Heinrich George (), was a German stage and film actor. Career Weimar Republic George is noted for having spooked the young Bertolt Brecht in his first ...

as Der Postmeister *

Hilde Krahl Hilde Krahl (10 January 1917 – 28 June 1999) was an Austrian film actress. She appeared in 70 films between 1936 and 1994. She was born Hildegard Kolačný in Brod, Austria-Hungary (now Slavonski Brod, Croatia) in 1917, and she died in Vien ...

as Dunja *

Siegfried Breuer Siegfried Breuer (24 June 1906 – 1 February 1954) was an Austrian stage and film actor and occasional film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Vienna, Siegried was the son of Hans Breuer (1868 or 1870–1929), who was an opera sing ...

as Rittmeister Minskij *

Hans Holt Hans Holt (22 November 1909 – 3 August 2001) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1935 and 1990. Selected filmography * ''Hannerl and Her Lovers (1936 film), Hannerl and Her Lovers'' (1936) * ''Catherine ...

as Fähnrich Mitja *

Ruth Hellberg Ruth Hellberg (2 November 1906 – 26 April 2001) was a German actress. She appeared in more than 25 films between 1933 and 1991. Selected filmography * ''What Men Know'' (1933) * '' Yvette'' (1938) * '' Heimat'' (1938) * ''Drei Unteroffizi ...

as Elisawetha * Margit Symo as Mascha *

Erik Frey Erik Frey (1 March 1908 – 2 September 1988) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1936 and 1988. He was born and died in Vienna, Austria. He was married to the actress Jane Tilden. Selected filmography * ...

as Sergej *

Alfred Neugebauer Alfred Neugebauer (24 December 1888 – 14 September 1957) was an Austrian film actor. Selected filmography * ''Money in the Streets'' (1922) * ''Money on the Street'' (1930) * ''Madame Bluebeard'' (1931) * '' Storm in a Water Glass'' (1931) * '' ...

as Gutsbesitzer *

Franz Pfaudler Franz Pfaudler (1893–1956) was an Austrian stage and film actor.Giesen p.200 Selected filmography * ''My Life for Maria Isabella'' (1935) * ''Renate in the Quartet'' (1939) * ''Der Postmeister'' (1940) * ''Heimkehr'' (1941) * '' Anuschka'' (194 ...

as Knecht Pjotr *

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 Oberst *

Reinhold Häussermann Reinhold Häussermann (10 February 1884 – 4 April 1947) was a German-born Austrian stage and film actor. Haussermann appeared in twenty-one films during his career, largely in supporting roles in films such as Karl Leiter's '' The Missing Wife' ...

as Schneider *

Auguste Pünkösdy Auguste Pünkösdy (1890–1967) was an Austrian stage and film actress.Soister p.46 Selected filmography * ''The Giant's Fist'' (1917) * ''Alkohol'' (1919) * ''Circus Saran'' (1935) * '' Little Mother'' (1935) * ''Vienna 1910'' (1943) * ''Late ...

as Wirobowa

References

External links

*
''Der Postmeister''
Full movie at the Deutsche Filmothek Nazi propaganda films 1941 films 1940s historical films German historical films Films of Nazi Germany 1940s German-language films Films directed by Gustav Ucicky Films set in Russia Films set in the 19th century Films based on works by Aleksandr Pushkin UFA GmbH films German black-and-white films Films set in Saint Petersburg 1940s German films {{historic-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links