''Heißer Sommer'', aka ''Hot Summer'' (USA), is a 1968
East German
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
musical film. A 2001 video release promotes the film as "The East German ''
Grease''" although perhaps it is closer in concept to the 1963 British movie ''
Summer Holiday'' which starred
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
.
Plot
A group of girls and a separate group of boys come across each other whilst travelling from
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
to
Ruegen Island for the summer holidays. Initially trying to ignore and avoid each other, the two groups find themselves billeted close by, relaxing together, enjoying each other's company and the resulting relationships that develop. The movie deals with the conflicts of each relationship in the group by singing and dancing their way through each situation including a brief encounter with the
VoPo's - the police. The majority of the film is shot on Ruegen Island which at the time, was a popular destination for East Germans and today is popular with travellers the world over. Included are some early footage of Leipzig and
East Berlin
East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...
during the reconstruction and re-building era of the former GDR.
Cast
*
Chris Doerk - Stupsi
*
Frank Schöbel
Frank Schöbel (born 11 December 1942, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany) is a German musician. He was one of the most successful pop singers in socialist East Germany (GDR), and has continued to perform even after German reunification.
Career
As the se ...
- Kai
*
Regine Albrecht - Brit
*
Hanns-Michael Schmidt - Wolf
*Georg-Peter Welzel - Schpack
*Hans Mietzner - Schelle
*
Norbert Speer - Rechtsanwalt (Lawyer)
*Gerd Nordheim - Tom
*Ernst-Jürgen Thede - Transistor
*
Madeleine Lierck - Thalia
*
Rosa Lotze - Trude
*
Bruno Carstens
Bruno may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname
* Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880)
* Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...
- Meister Klaus
*
Werner Lierck Werner may refer to:
People
* Werner (name), origin of the name and people with this name as surname and given name
Fictional characters
* Werner (comics), a German comic book character
* Werner Von Croy, a fictional character in the ''Tomb Rai ...
- Abschnittsbevollmächtigter (Policeman)
*
Marianne Wünscher
Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty.
Marianne is displayed in ...
- VEG-Leiterin (Boss of Farm)
*
Erich Brauer
Erich Brauer (28 June 1895, in Berlin – 9 May 1942, in Petah Tikvah) was a German Jewish illustrator, ethnographer, and ethnologist. As an artist he chose to be known as Erich Chiram Brauer. He often signed his art work "Chiram".
Early life
H ...
- Fischer (Fisherman)
* Urta Bühler - Sybille
* Camilla Hempel - Röschen (Rose)
* Leonore Kaufmann - Mädchen (Girl)
* Ursula Soika - Bärbel
* Hella Ziesing - Mädchen (Girl)
* Sylvia von Kashiwoslozki - Mädchen (Girl)
* Marlis Räth - Himmlische (Heavenly)
*
Angelika Schmidt - Himmlische (Heavenly)
* Günther Lisiecki - Junge (Boy)
*
Peter Heiland - Junge (Boy)
* Hans-Christian Albers - Junge (Boy)
Soundtrack
# Heißer Sommer (03:20) (Chris Doerk & Frank Schöbel)
# Das Darf Nicht Wahr Sein (02:58) (Chris Doerk, Frank Schöbel, Regine Albrecht & Hanns-Michael Schmidt)
# Männer, Die Noch Keine Sind (02:40) (Chris Doerk)
# Wir (01:58) (Frank Schöbel)
# Tanz Am Strand (02:04) (Orchester Günter Gollasch)
# Woher Willst Du Wissen, Wer Ich Bin? (02:08) (Chris Doerk & Frank Schöbel)
# Was Erleben (02:38) (Chris Doerk)
# Ein Sommerlied (02:48) (Frank Schöbel)
# Fang Doch Den Sonnenstrahl (02:28) (Gerti Möller & Frank Schöbel)
# Ich Fand Die Eine (04:17) (Frank Schöbel)
# Es War Mal Ein Mädchen (01:45) (Ingo Graf)
# Einmal Muß Ein Ende Sein (02:40) (Frank Schöbel)
# Finale Heißer Sommer (01:32) (Chris Doerk & Frank Schöbel)
Reviews
* ''Heißer Sommer'' is featured in the 1997 documentary film ''
East Side Story''
* IMDb's link to external reviews can be found at
* A written review is located at ''Puchalski, Steven. Short Takes. In: Shock Cinema (New York City, New York, USA), Steven Puchalski, Vol. 19, 2001, Pg. 42, (MG)''
During its original run, the film sold 3,441,595 tickets.
List of the 50 highest-grossing DEFA films.
/ref>
References
External links
* In 2009, a live musical production of the show was held in Berlin
Heisser Sommer Musical
*
Various links for Heißer Sommer at IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heisser Sommer
1968 films
1968 musical films
German musical films
East German films
Films set in the Baltic Sea
Films set on islands
1960s German films