''Hocuspocus'' (german: Hokuspokus) is a 1953 West German

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

crime film directed by

Kurt Hoffmann Kurt Hoffmann (12 November 1910 – 25 June 2001) was a German film director, the son of Carl Hoffmann. He directed 48 films between 1938 and 1971. He ran a production company Independent Film along with Heinz Angermeyer. His 1958 film ' ...

and starring

Curt Goetz Curt Goetz (; 17 November 1888 – 12 September 1960), born Kurt Walter Götz, was a Swiss German writer, actor and film director. He was regarded as one of the most brilliant German comedy writers of his time. With his wife Valérie von Marten ...

Valerie von Martens Valérie von Martens (; 4 November 1894 – 7 April 1986), born Valérie Pajér Edle von Mayersperg, was a German-Austrian actress. Valérie von Martens was born in Lienz, Tirol, daughter of the Austrian admiral Rudolf Pajér Edler von Mayersperg ...

(his wife) and Hans Nielsen.Elsaesser & Wedel p.201 Based on Goetz's own play from 1926 and on the first movie of 1930 of which an English-language version was made at the same time, it was remade in 1966 in color as '' Hocuspocus''. It was shot at

Göttingen Studios The Göttingen Studios were film studios located in the German city of Göttingen. The studios were established in 1948 on a site that had previously been used as an aeroplane hangar on the outskirts of Göttingen. The studios were founded by the ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art director's

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

Hermann Warm Hermann Warm was a German art director for films. Born in 1889 (died 1976) in Berlin, Germany, Warm was an important figure in the expressionist movement of the 1920s. Warm entered the German film industry in 1912 after working on-stage for a w ...

Plot

After the unsuccessful painter Hilmar Kjerulf has supposedly died, interest in his paintings rises significantly. One of his worshippers is the President of the criminal court, who has to trial over his soft-spoken widow Agda Kjerulf. She is accused of having drowned her husband in a lake and simply defends herself by remaining silent or theatricly dropping unconscious. A mysterious person warns the court president several times that somebody wants to kill him on a certain date, and the supposed victim calls for his friend and lawyer, Mr. Graham, to come for support. The misterious visitor shows up, revealing his identity as Peer Bille, son of a famous circus artist and manager, and demonstrates some false evidences pointing to Mr. Graham plotting to kill his friend. He reveals that proof to be sleight of hand "hocuspocus" and insists the court president to treat evidence, especially evidence concerning his recent courtcase, as critic as possible. The next day in court the President learns, that attourney Peer Bille has taken over the defence of Mrs. Kjerulf because her lawyer has stepped down. Bille and the state attourney try to reconstruct the last day of the late painter. Bille can make some points but confusion rises, when witness Kiebutz testifies that Mrs. Kjerulf has received conjugational visit from a man right after the supposed death of Mr. Kjerulf. Eventually Mr. Graham is allowed to investigate and succeeds in proving Peer Bille to be much more than a counselor for Mrs. Kjerulf. As tides turn against Bille, he and his complice reveal the whole plot and the real reason, how and why painter Hilmar Kjerulf died but actually has not died at all.

Cast

as Peer Bille *

as Agda Kjerulf * Hans Nielsen as court president *

Ernst Waldow Ernst Waldow (22 August 1893 – 5 June 1964) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 160 films during his career. Selected filmography * '' Rübezahl's Wedding'' (1916) * '' Sin of a Beautiful Woman'' (1929) *'' The Green Domino'' (1 ...

as prosecutor *

Erich Ponto Erich Johannes Bruno Ponto (14 December 1884 – 14 February 1957) was a German film and stage actor. Career Erich Ponto was born in Lübeck as the son of a merchant. After his family had moved to Hamburg- Eimsbüttel, he attended the gymnasium ...

as Mr. Arthur Graham *

Elisabeth Flickenschildt Elisabeth Ida Marie Flickenschildt (16 March 1905 – 26 October 1977) was a German actress, producer and author. She appeared in dozens of German language films and television productions between 1935–1976. Flickenschildt was born in Hamburg ...

as witness Kiebutz *

Joachim Teege Joachim Teege (November 30, 1925 – November 19, 1969) was a German actor. Selected filmography * ''The Adventures of Fridolin'' (1948) - Heini Bock * '' Und wieder 48'' (1948) - Reisender * '' The Staircase'' (1950) - Herbert Ehrke * '' The Merr ...

as witness Eunano * Margrit Ensinger *

Mila Kopp Mila Kopp (20 October 1904 – 14 January 1973) was an Austrian stage, film and television actress.Goble p.412 Selected filmography * ''Andreas Schlüter'' (1942) * ''The Murder Trial of Doctor Jordan ''The Murder Trial of Doctor Jordan'' (ger ...

Fritz Rasp Fritz Heinrich Rasp (13 May 1891 – 30 November 1976) was a German film actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1916 and 1976. His obituary in ''Der Spiegel'' described Rasp as "the German film villain in service, for over 60 years." ...

as attendant *

Tilo von Berlepsch Tilo von Berlepsch (30 December 1913 – 8 April 1991) was a German actor. He appeared in more than 90 films and television shows between 1949 and 1977. He came from the Berlepsch family and was a grandson of the ornithologist Hans Hermann C ...

* Fritz Brandt

References

Bibliography

Thomas Elsaesser Thomas Elsaesser (22 June 1943 – 4 December 2019) was a German film historian and professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of Amsterdam. He was also the writer and director of ''The Sun Island'', a documentary essay film abou ...

& Michael Wedel. ''The BFI companion to German cinema''. British Film Institute, 1999.

External links

*
at filmportal.de
1953 films 1950s crime comedy films German crime comedy films West German films 1950s German-language films German black-and-white films German films based on plays Films based on works by Curt Goetz Remakes of German films German courtroom films Films about fictional painters 1953 comedy films 1950s German films Films shot at Göttingen Studios {{1950s-Germany-film-stub