''Midsummer Night's Fire'' or ''St. John's Fire'' (german: Johannisfeuer) is a 1939 German

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

Arthur Maria Rabenalt Arthur Maria Rabenalt (25 June 1905 – 26 February 1993) was an Austrian film director, writer, and author. He directed more than 90 films between 1934 and 1978. His 1958 film ''That Won't Keep a Sailor Down'' was entered into the 1st Moscow I ...

and starring

Anna Dammann Anna Dammann (19 Sept 1912 in Hamburg – 30 Sept 1993 in Munich) was a German stage and film actress. She was married to Walter Geese.https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0198883/bio Selected filmography * ''Sergeant Schwenke'' (1935) * ''The Journey to ...

Ernst von Klipstein Ernst von Klipstein (3 February 1908 – 22 November 1993) was a German film and television actor. von Klipstein became a prominent actor during the Nazi era, appearing in a large number of action films. Partial filmography * '' Uproar in Dama ...

, and Gertrud Meyen. The film is based on the play '' Fires of St. John'' by

Hermann Sudermann Hermann Sudermann (30 September 1857 – 21 November 1928) was a German dramatist and novelist. Life Early career Sudermann was born at Matzicken, a village to the east of Heydekrug in the Province of Prussia (now Macikai and Šilutė, i ...

. The title refers to

Saint John's Eve Saint John's Eve, starting at sunset on 23 June, is the eve of celebration before the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist. The Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26–37, 56–57) states that John was born six months before Jesus; therefore, the feast of J ...

. The film's

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

was by and

Erich Czerwonski Erich Czerwonski (1889–1940) was a German art director.Kreimeier p.73 He designed the sets for around a hundred productions during his career. He died in 1940 after being struck by a train during a blackout. Filmography * '' The Black Panther ...

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for exam ...

took place in

Prenzlau Prenzlau (, formerly also Prenzlow) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark (district), Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic Uckermark region. Geography The town is located on the Uecker, Ucke ...

and around

Masuria Masuria (, german: Masuren, Masurian: ''Mazurÿ'') is a ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

. It was remade in 1954 as '' Love is Forever''.

Plot

After many years in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, a man returns to his village in East Prussia to marry his intended bride. However, he finds himself drawn to another girl and contemplates running away with her.

Cast

References

External links

* Films of Nazi Germany German drama films 1939 drama films Films based on works by Hermann Sudermann Films directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt Terra Film films German black-and-white films 1930s German films 1930s German-language films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub