''The Heathens of Kummerow'' (german: Die Heiden von Kummerow und ihre lustigen Streiche, lit=The Heathens of Kummerow and Their Funny Pranks) is a 1967 East German-West German

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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

Werner Jacobs Werner Jacobs (1909–1999) was a German film director and film editor, editor. He was born in Berlin on the 24 April 1909. He is best known for his contributions to Modebummel (1951), Der Stern von Santa Clara (1958) and André und Ursula (1955). ...

and starring Paul Dahlke,

Ralf Wolter Ralf Wolter (26 November 1926 – 14 October 2022) was a German stage and screen actor. Wolter appeared in nearly 220 films and television series in his over 60 years as a character actor. Life and career Wolter began his long career on the B ...

and

Fritz Tillmann Fritz Tillmann (December 13, 1910 – October 30, 1986) was a German actor. Selected filmography * ''Hoegler's Mission'' (1950) - Fritz Rottmann * '' The Council of the Gods'' (1950) - Dr. Hans Scholz * '' Master of Life and Death'' (1955) - Dr ...

. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name, written by

Ehm Welk Emil "Ehm" Welk (August 29, 1884 – December 19, 1966) was a German journalist, writer, professor and founder of ''Volkshochschulen'' (adult education centres). He became known for his work '' Die Heiden von Kummerow'' (''The Heathens of Kumme ...

and published in 1937. 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 ...

Senta Ochs Senta ( sr-cyrl, Сента, ; Hungarian: ''Zenta'', ; Romanian: ''Zenta'') is a town and municipality located in the North Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the bank of the Tisa river in the ge ...

and

Alfred Tolle Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

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 exam ...

took place around

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...

Plot

It is the era before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and short before Easter in the village of Kummerow in

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

, and a group of boys revive a custom of "heathen baptism". It is said that the villagers had resisted Christianization by remaining in the water during the baptism, which lived on as a traditional contest where boys will stand in the cold water, and the one who endures the longest is crowned "heathen king". This practice is not appreciated by the local pastor, although when the pastor and the illegally employed cowherd Krischan get into trouble with the miller Düker, the boys' talent for playing pranks comes in handy.

Cast

* Paul Dahlke as Pastor Breithaupt *

as Krischan *

as Müller Düker *

Rainer Penkert Rainer Penkert (23 June 1921 – 11 April 2012, in Munich) was a German actor. Selected filmography * ''Our Miss Doctor'' (1940) - Bierlinger, Primaner * ''Menschen in Gottes Hand'' (1948) - Karl Renken * ''Anonymous Letters'' (1949) - Axel Brack ...

as Grambauer *

Theo Lingen Theo Lingen (; 10 June 1903 – 10 November 1978), born Franz Theodor Schmitz, was a German actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1929 and 1978, and directed 21 films between 1936 and 1960. Life and c ...

as Sanftleben *

Günther Jerschke Günther Jerschke (1921–1997) was a German actor. Selected filmography * ''Pour le Mérite'' (1938) - Adjutant des Kommandeurs der Flieger * ''Maya of the Seven Veils'' (1951) * ''Kommen Sie am Ersten'' (1951) - Inspizient * '' Under the Tho ...

as Niemeier *

Wolfgang Jansen Wolfgang Jansen (1938–1988) was a German actor. Selected filmography * ''The Sinful Border'' (1951) * ''The Chaste Libertine'' (1952) * '' Fight of the Tertia'' (1952) * ''Turtledove General Delivery'' (1952) * ''Hit Parade'' (1953) * '' Th ...

as Josef * Jochen Sehrndt as Christian Wendland *

Hans Klering Hans Klering (8 November 1906 – 30 October 1988) was a German actor, director, voice actor, graphic designer and author. He joined the Communist Party and went into exile in the Soviet Union in 1931, returning to Germany in 1945. In 1946, he beca ...

as Nachtwächter Bärensprung *

Horst Kube Horst Kube (1920–1976) was a German actor. Selected filmography * ''Ernst Thälmann - Führer seiner Klasse'' (1955) * ''A Berlin Romance'' (1956) * ''Der Fackelträger'' (1957) * '' Schlösser und Katen'' (1957) * ''Don't Forget My Little Trau ...

as Bauer Trebbin *

Irene Korb Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...

as Hermine Breithaupt *

Tatjana Iwanow Tatiana (or Tatianna, also Romanization, romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Variations * be, Тацця́на, Tatsiana * bg, Татяна, T ...

as Frau Düker *

Angela Brunner Angela Brunner (12 January 1931 – 17 June 2011) was a German actress. Personal life Brunner was married to German-Australian writer Walter Kaufmann. Their daughters are photographer Rebekka and actress Deborah Kaufmann. She was best known fo ...

as Luise Bärensprung * Erika Müller-Fürstenau as Frau Grambauer * Karin Heidemann as Ulrike Breithaupt * Wolfgang Hinz as Hermann * Jörg Resler as Martin Grambauer * Gerald Schraml as Johannes * Hans Bosenius as Kantor Kannegiesser * Günter Drescher as Bauer Fiebelkorn *

Nico Turoff Nico Turoff (Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and ...

as Wirt Krüger * Albert Zahn as Otto Kienbaum

Production

The film is based on the 1937 novel ''The Heathens of Kummerow'' by

. The book was the third best selling novel written in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, and along with other novels by the apolitical humourist Welk, it became a modern classic in East Germany. The film adaptation was the first film co-produced by East and West Germany.

References

External links

* 1967 films 1960s children's comedy films German historical films 1960s historical films German comedy films German children's films West German films East German films 1960s German-language films Films directed by Werner Jacobs Films based on German novels Films set in the 1880s Films set in Prussia 1967 comedy films DEFA films Constantin Film films 1960s German films {{1960s-Germany-film-stub