''Hurra, die Schule brennt!'' (German: "Hurrah, the School Is Burning!") is a 1969

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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 starring

Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to: * Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player * Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...

Heintje Simons Hendrik Nikolaas Theodoor "Heintje" Simons (born 12 August 1955) in Heerlen, later known as Hein Simons, is a Dutch schlager singer and actor. Background Heintje was born the son of a coal miner who had to retire because of silicosis, reduci ...

and

Theo Lingen Theo Lingen (; 10 June 1903 – 10 November 1978), born Franz Theodor Schmitz, was a German actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1929 and 1978, and directed 21 films between 1936 and 1960. Life and c ...

. It is the fourth of a series of school comedy films under the collective title ' ("The Brats from the Front Bench Row"), all of them starring

Hansi Kraus Hans Krause, known by his stage name Hansi Kraus (born 26 June 1952 in Gliwice, Silesia, Poland), is a German actor. Career Hans Krause was only 12 years old when he was discovered by German film producer Franz Seitz, Jr. Hans Krause sounds t ...

and

Plot

Dr. Peter Bach (Peter Alexander), a young and excellent teacher, has been mistakenly diverted to the village of Tuttelbach, where he teaches at the local elementary school. When the head of the Education Ministry, von Schnorr, attempts to correct that mistake, he finds Dr. Bach unwilling to leave since he has come to enjoy the easy and picturesque village life. However, in the end Bach is left with no other choice when von Schnorr accidentally drops his burning cigar into the school room's waste basket, where it quickly starts a fire that burns the school to the ground. Dr. Bach and his nephew Jan (Heintje Simons) move to

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

, where Bach is assigned to the notorious Class 12a of the Mommsen- Gymnasium. Pepe Nietnagel (Hansi Kraus) and his classmates initially meet their new teacher with little enthusiasm, but Bach's easy-going and frank personality soon gains their genuine sympathy and support. Oberstudiendirektor Dr. Taft (Theo Lingen), as the old-fashioned traditionalist he is, however, just as quickly disapproves of Bach's approach to the students, and together with the teaching staff's majority (not including young music teacher Julia Schumann, played by Gerlinde Locker) decide to get rid of him as quickly as possible. When Pepe and his friends learn about this, they begin to fight tooth and nail to keep Bach at their school, culminating in a school play in which Bach and the students present a ''very'' liberal re-interpretation of Schiller's ''

William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...

''. The film ends with Kurt Nietnagel, Pepe's father, asking Dr. Taft to attend the christening and maiden flight of a new glider at Nietnagel's glider club, which ends with Taft and Bach accidentally making the flight and a subsequent parachute dive to get back to Earth.

Cast

as Pepe Nietnagel *

as Dr. Peter Bach *

as Jan *

as Oberstudiendirektor Dr. Taft * Gerlinde Locker as Julia Schumann *

Werner Finck Werner Finck (2 May 1902 – 31 July 1978) was a German ''Kabarett'' comedian, actor and author. Not politically motivated by his own admission but just a "convinced individualist", he became one of Germany's leading cabaret artists under the co ...

as von Schnorr *

Rudolf Schündler Rudolf Ernst Paul Schündler (17 April 1906, in Leipzig – 12 December 1988, in Munich) was a German actor and director. He played "Karl" in ''The Exorcist'' (1973). After finishing the film ''The Nasty Girl'', Schündler died of a heart attack ...

Studienrat Studienrat (abbreviated StR) is an official title/rank of higher teachers in the German and Austrian education system. Even though the German and Austrian education systems use the same term, there are differences in the level and usage of this rank ...

Dr. Knörz *

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 ...

as Studienrätin Dr. Pollhagen *

Alexander Golling Alexander Golling (August 2, 1905 – February 26, 1989) was a German actor. Golling was a member of the Nazi Party.Hervé Dumont, ''Robert Siodmak: le maître du film noir'', L'Age D'Homme, 1981, p. 294 Selected filmography * ''Der stählerne ...

as Blaumeier *

Hans Terofal Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjab ...

as Pedell Bloch *

Harald Juhnke Harald Juhnke () (born Harry Heinz Herbert Juhnke, 10 June 1929 – 1 April 2005), was a German actor, comedian, and singer. Life and career Juhnke was born in Berlin-Charlottenburg. His father was a police officer and his mother came from a ...

as Referent *

Wolfgang Gruner Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...

as Kurt Nietnagel *

Carola Höhn Carola Höhn (30 January 1910 – 8 November 2005) was a German stage and movie actress. Selected filmography Film * ''The Weekend Bride'' (1928) * '' Don Juan in a Girls' School'' (1928) * '' From a Bachelor's Diary'' (1929) * '' Youthful Ind ...

as Frau Nietnagel

Songs

* "" ("Hooray, the School Is Burning") ... Peter Alexander and children's choir * "" ("The Two of Us Get Along Well") ... Peter Alexander and Heintje * "" ("When

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

was still part of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

") ... Peter Alexander * "" ("Being Young is Nice") ... Heintje * "Wilhelm Tell-Song" ... Peter Alexander and choir * "" ("Again and Again") ... Peter Alexander and Heintje * "" ("Love Dreams") ... Peter Alexander * "

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...

" ... Peter Alexander * "" ("Follow Your Way") ... Heintje

Awards

*1970:

Goldene Leinwand The Goldene Leinwand (Golden Screen) is an award created in 1964 by the HDF ("Hauptverband Deutscher Filmtheater e.V.", literally translated "Federal Association For Movie Theatres") and the journal ''Filmecho/Filmwoche''. Like a Golden Record, it ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurra, Die Schule Brennt 1969 films 1969 musical comedy films Films about educators Films directed by Werner Jacobs German musical comedy films 1960s German-language films West German films 1960s German films