''Hotel Clausewitz'' (German: ''Pension Clausewitz'') is a 1967 West German

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

Ralph Habib Ralph Habib (Paris, 29 June 1912 – Paris, 27 June 1969) was a French film director of Lebanese origin. He started his film career with Pathé. He later worked as assistant director notably Jean Dréville and Jean-Paul Le Chanois before directin ...

and starring

Wolfgang Kieling Wolfgang Kieling (16 March 1924 – 7 October 1985) was a German actor. Biography In films since childhood in his native Germany, Kieling appeared in a few American films, notably in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Torn Curtain'' (1966), where he play ...

, Maria Brockerhoff and

Friedrich Schoenfelder Friedrich Schoenfelder (17 October 1916 – 14 August 2011) was a German actor and voice artist. Schoenfelder was born in Sorau/Lower Lusatia and died in Berlin. He was 94. He was the German dubbing voice of David Niven and Vincent Price. In th ...

Plot

The main character of the story, Stemmka, through an inheritance, becomes the owner of a

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

brothel, called "Pension Schölermann". In order to refresh the "establishment", Stemmka immediately hires two attractive young ladies. One of these, Marlies, whose fiancé Werner is stuck in East Berlin and was prevented from escaping to the West. Not only is the brothel used for erotic encounters, it becomes the meeting place of the intelligence services. Among the clients are a West-German nuclear scientist, a Stasi officer, a representative of the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

and his communist opponent from beyond the Iron Curtain. Marlies wants to rescue Werner from the power of the Stasi and therefore agrees to cooperate with the GDR. For this reason, she passes on the secrets she learns from

pillow talk Pillow talk is the relaxed, intimate conversation that often occurs between two sexual partners, sometimes after sexual activity, usually accompanied by cuddling, caresses, kissing, and other physical intimacy. It is associated with honesty, se ...

to the communist enemy. Her spying ends when her fiancé escapes from the east to the city's western sector. Now they can turn the tide and help the Western Allies smash the East German ring of agents.

Production

Pension Clausewitz, also known as Hotel Clausewitz, was filmed in February and March 1967 in Berlin and premiered on April 28, 1967. The story was inspired by the events surrounding the real Pension Clausewitz, which caused a veritable scandal at the end of 1964. In order not to give the impression of a faithful retelling of the actual events, the Pension Clausewitz was called Schölermann in the film. The FSK credits the film with the "staggering persiflage, which often turns into a fuss," mellowing the portrayal of delicate situations and frivolous utterances. Nevertheless, several scenes had to be cut, in which the bosom of striptease dancers was seen. The comedian

Karl Dall Karl Bernhard Dall (, 1 February 1941 – 23 November 2020) was a German comedian, singer, and television presenter. His distinctive 'hanging' eye was caused by a congenital ptosis. Family Karl Dall was born in Emden, Germany, the son of ...

had a cameo appearance in the film as a pimp with two words dialog text: "poaching, wa" His three colleagues of comedy combo ''Insterburg & Co.'' also have cameo appearances, but were little more than extras.

Cast

Cast list from Filmportal.de and World Filmography 1967.

References

Bibliography

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External links

*{{IMDb title, 0062111 1967 films West German films 1960s spy comedy films German spy comedy films 1960s German-language films Films directed by Ralph Habib Films set in Berlin Films set in West Germany Cold War spy films Films about prostitution in Germany Films shot in Berlin 1967 comedy films 1960s German films