''The Simple Girl'' (german: Das einfache Mädchen) is a 1957

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

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 produced by

Artur Brauner Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; 1 August 1918 – 7 July 2019) was a German film producer and entrepreneur of Polish origin. He produced more than 300 films from 1946. Life and career He was born the oldest son of a Jewish family ...

. It starred

Caterina Valente Caterina Valente (born 14 January 1931) is a French multilingual singer, guitarist, and dancer of Italian ethnicity. Valente is a polyglot; she speaks six languages, and sings in eleven. While she is best known as a performer in Europe, Valente ...

Rudolf Prack Rudolf Prack (2 August 1905 – 2 December 1981) was an Austrian film actor. Selected filmography * ''Florentine'' (1937) * ''Prinzessin Sissy'' (1939) - Prince Luitpold * '' A Mother's Love'' (1939) - Felix Pirlinger - 1922 * ''Krambambuli'' ( ...

and

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 ...

Production

The film was directed by German director

and produced by

. It is based on an idea by

Curth Flatow Curth Flatow (9 January 1920 – 4 June 2011) was a German dramatist and screenwriter who started his career in post-war Germany specializing in light comedy. Flatow was born in Berlin. Many of his plays have been adapted for the big screen. One ...

who also wrote the screenplay, together with . The working title was ''Bravo, Caterina''.

Horst Wendlandt Horst Otto Gregor Wendlandt (15 March 1922 – 30 August 2002) was a German film producer. He produced more than 100 films between 1956 and 2002. In the 1960s Horst Wendlandt's production company Rialto Film produced films based on Edgar Wa ...

was line producer and Brauner's wife, Maria, was in charge of costume design. Filming took place in May 1957 at the

Spandau Studios The Spandau Studios or CCC Studios were film and television studios located in Spandau, a suburb of Berlin. They were established in 1949 following the Second World War by the producer Artur Brauner Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; ...

in Berlin. 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 ...

Emil Hasler Emil Hasler (November 8, 1901 – January 15, 1986) was a German art director who worked on more than a hundred films during his career. These included a number of Weimar classics such as ''Diary of a Lost Girl, M'' and ''The Blue Angel''.Prawe ...

and

Paul Markwitz Paul Markwitz (16 July 1908 – 19 March 1968)Kay Weniger: Das große Personenlexikon des Films Volume 5, Berlin 2001, , pg. 281f was a German production designer, art director and set decorator. He worked on over 50 films between 1935 and ...

. The film premiered on 23 August 1957 at the Thalia in Wiesbaden.

Plot

Caterina Bastiani, a talented young actress, is offered the leading role in a musical. This is her big break but the author of the novel on which the musical is based is less than pleased about this adaption — and he does not think much of Caterina. Caterina meets a girl by accident who has applied to work for the author as a maid. She takes the girl's place in order to prove her talent as an actress and shows up at the author's home as the new maid herself.

Cast

as Caterina Bastiani *

as Thomas Krauss *

as Milli *

Rudolf Platte Rudolf Antonius Heinrich Platte (12 February 1904 – 18 December 1984) was a German actor. Biography Born in Hörde, Westphalia (today part of Dortmund) the son of a merchant, his family moved to Hildesheim three years later. Rudolf left scho ...

as Werner Pätzold *

Dorit Kreysler Dorit Kreysler (1909–1999) was an Austrian film actress.Goble p.338 Filmography * ''Enjoy Yourselves'' (1934) * ''Mr. Kobin Seeks Adventure'' (1934) * ''Jungfrau gegen Mönch'' (1934) * '' Fresh Wind from Canada'' (1935) * ''A Night on the Dan ...

as Mrs. Seidel *

Helen Vita Helen Vita (7 August 1928 in Hohenschwangau – 16 February 2001 in Berlin) was a Swiss chanson singer, actress, and comedian. In 1966 Vita recorded ''Freche Chansons aus dem alten Frankreich'', traditional French chansons translated into German. T ...

as Eva Krapke *

Peter W. Staub Peter W. Staub (1910–2000) was a Swiss singer, stage, film and television actor.Gänzl p.1317 Partial filmography * ''Mein Traum'' (1940) - Jimmy * ''Gilberte de Courgenay'' (1941) - Korporal * ''Emil, mer mues halt rede mitenand'' (1941) - V ...

as Pit * Stefan Haar as Jürgen Krauss * Richard Allan as Robert Holden *

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 pr ...

as Anton Schwarz *

Franz-Otto Krüger Franz-Otto Krüger (1 April 1917 – 17 March 1988) was a German film and television actor. Krüger already started his acting at Berlin theatres in 1934, but his career was interrupted by his service in the Second World War. He appeared in over ...

as Regisseur *

Henry Lorenzen Henry Lorenzen (8 February 1899 – 22 September 1961) was a Danish film actor.Giesen p.199 Selected filmography * ''Girls of Today'' (1933) * ''The Champion of Pontresina'' (1934) * ''Tales from the Vienna Woods'' (1934) * ''Punks Arrives from ...

as Komponist Heino Kies *

Herbert Weißbach Herbert Weißbach (12 November 1901 – 13 October 1995) was a German actor, cabaret artist, and voice actor. Born in Bernburg, he appeared in more than 240 films and television shows between 1935 and 1994. Selected filmography * ''Donog ...

as Baron Westhoff * Edith Adana as Baronin Westhoff

References

Bibliography

* Hans-Michael Bock and Tim Bergfelder. ''The Concise Cinegraph: An Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

*
Artur-Brauner-Archive at the Deutsches Filmmuseum in Frankfurt (German), containing the production files for this movie
1957 films 1957 musical comedy films German musical comedy films West German films 1950s German-language films Films directed by Werner Jacobs Gloria Film films Films shot at Spandau Studios 1950s German films {{1950s-Germany-film-stub