''Gabriela'' is a 1950 West German

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 ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Géza von Cziffra Géza von Cziffra (; 19 December 1900 – 28 April 1989) was a Hungarian and Austrian film director and screenwriter. Life Cziffra was a Banat German in origin, born in 1900 in Arad in the Banat region, at that date in the Kingdom of Hungar ...

and starring

Zarah Leander Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned Universum Film AG (UFA). Although no exact record ...

Carl Raddatz Carl Raddatz (13 March 1912 – 19 May 2004) was a German stage and film actor. Raddatz was a leading man of German cinema during the Nazi era appearing in a number of propaganda films and romances. Later in his career he developed a reputation f ...

, and Vera Molnar. It was Leander's comeback film after a seven-year absence from filmmaking. In 1943 when the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

leadership had demanded she take German citizenship, she had broken her contract with

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

and returned to her native

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. In the immediate post-war era she was banned from appearing in German films because of her previous association with the Nazi hierarchy. When the law was lifted in 1949, she was able to make films once more. It was shot at the

Wandsbek Studios The Wandsbek Studios are film production and television studios located in Wandsbek, a district of the German city of Hamburg. The complex was established in 1948 when Real Film, set up the previous year, acquired a site in Wandsbek for constr ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. 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 ...

Herbert Kirchhoff Herbert Kirchhoff (1911–1988) was a German art director. Selected filmography * ''Nora's Ark'' (1948) * '' My Wife's Friends'' (1949) * '' The Last Night'' (1949) * ''Second Hand Destiny'' (1949) * ''Third from the Right'' (1950) * ''Harbour ...

. It was the third highest-grossing film at the West German box office in 1950.

Plot

Gabriela is a famous singer who became renown following the performance in a bar, where a man fell in love with her. After marriage to Charlie, Gabriella gave birth to Andrea, and subsequently to Hansi. After raising both daughters, was is forced leave them with her spouse, in order to continue her singing career. The daughters, who are now adults, were raised by a foster mother, while Charlie was busy with work and had no time for them. Gabriela, who had matured over time, realizes the mistake she made when she gave the daughters away and is overwhelmed by maternal remorse. However, it's too late now. Andrea, the oldest of them, is totally estranged from her mother and shows no interest in meeting her. Instead, Andrea is being courted by a young engineer. Meanwhile, Gabriela, with the help of her other daughter, Hansi, finally understands that the glamour life she had as a singer worth nothing comparing to the lost trust of her daughter. But Andrea also makes it clear to Gabriela that she no longer needs her.

Cast

References

External links

* {{Géza von Cziffra West German films German musical drama films Films directed by Géza von Cziffra 1950s musical drama films Real Film films Films shot at Wandsbek Studios 1950 drama films German black-and-white films 1950s German films