''Ripening Youth'' (German: ''Reifende Jugend'') is a 1933 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 ...

directed by Carl Froelich and starring

Heinrich George Georg August Friedrich Hermann Schulz (9 October 1893 – 25 September 1946), better known as Heinrich George (), was a German stage and film actor. Career Weimar Republic George is noted for having spooked the young Bertolt Brecht in his first ...

Peter Voß Peter Voß (29 June 1891 – 9 January 1979) was a German film actor. Partial filmography * '' Love and Trumpets'' (1925) - Rekrut Dirmoser * '' Struggle for the Matterhorn'' (1928) - Edward Whymper * ''Diane - Die Geschichte einer Pariserin'' ...

and

Hertha Thiele Hertha Thiele (8 May 1908 – 5 August 1984) was a German actress. She is noted for her starring roles in then controversial stage plays and films produced during Germany's Weimar Republic and the early years of the Third Reich. After the post-w ...

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

Karl Machus Karl Machus (1884–1944) was a German art director. Along with Erich Zander he designed the sets for most of the films made by director Veit Harlan during the Nazi era.Noack p.145 Selected filmography * '' Prince Cuckoo'' (1919) * '' Blonde P ...

, Otto Moldenhauer and

Franz Schroedter Franz Schroedter (9 May 1897 – 14 November 1968) was a German art director.Giesen p.212 Selected filmography * '' The Black Count'' (1920) * '' The Dance of Love and Happiness'' (1921) * '' The New Paradise'' (1921) * '' The Queen of Whitechap ...

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 ex ...

took place at Stralsund on the

Baltic coast The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10 ...

. It was well-received by the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

press on its release, and drew inspiration from the earlier '' Madchen in Uniform'' which was admired by film journalists of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Synopsis

When three girls transfer to an elite school in

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

so they can sit their upcoming university entrance examinations this causes disruptions amongst the male students and teachers. One of the girls Elfriede becomes the subject of romantic interest from both a classmate and her strict teacher, ultimately opting for the latter. At the end all three girls pass their exams with full marks.

Cast

as Brodersen, Studiendirektor *

as Studienassesor Dr. Kerner *

as Elfriede Albing, Abiturientin *

Marieluise Claudius Marie Luise Claudius (6 January 1912 – 2 August 1941) was a German actress. Claudius was the daughter of the court actor and writer Erich Claudius and the actress Lisbeth Reschke. During her childhood, she appeared several times on the stage ...

as Christa von Borck, Abiturientin *

Albert Lieven Albert Lieven (born Albert Fritz Liévin; 22 June 1906 – 22 December 1971) was a German actor. Early life Lieven was born in Hohenstein, East Prussia (Olszynek, Poland). His father was the head physician of the Tuberculosis sanatorium Ho ...

as Knud Sengebusch, Abiturient *

Paul Henckels Paul Henckels (9 September 1885 – 27 May 1967) was a German film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1921 and 1965. Paul Henckels had started his acting career on the stage in the 1900s. He was well known for his e ...

as Dr. Hepp, Lehrer *

Albert Florath Albert Peter Adam Florath (7 December 1888, Bielefeld – 11 March 1957, Gaildorf) was a German stage and film actor. Early life and education Born to Joseph Florath, a locksmith, and his wife Matilda, née Burkart, he attended school in Brakel ...

as Nehring, Musiklehrer *

Sabine Peters Sabine Peters (29 December 1912 – 10 October 1982) was a German film actress. Peters emerged as a film actress during the Nazi era, and played largely supporting roles. She was one of the companions of the title in the 1938 Ingrid Bergman vehi ...

as Annelore Winkel, Abiturientin * Rolf Kästner as Bert Fredereksen, Abiturient *

Carsta Löck Carsta Löck (28 December 1902 – 9 October 1993) was a German film actress. Selected filmography * '' Refugees'' (1933) * '' Ripening Youth'' (1933) * '' The Double Fiance'' (1934) * '' Trouble with Jolanthe'' (1934) * '' Police Report'' (19 ...

as Stine Nockelmann, Tochter des Hausmeister *

Herbert Hübner Herbert Hübner (6 February 1889 – 27 January 1972) was a German stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1921 and 1966. He was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) and died in Munich, Germany. Selected fil ...

as Dr. Albing *

Paul Mederow Paul Friedrich Wolfgang Mederow (30 June 1887 – 17 December 1974) was a German stage and film actor. Mederow was born in Stralsund, in the Prussian province of Pomerania and died at age 87 in Brissago, Ticino, Switzerland. Partial filmogra ...

as Dr. Stahnke, Lehrer * Julius E. Herrmann as Dr. Steffenhagen, Lehrer *

Hermann Noack Hermann Noack, or Noack Foundry (German: ''Bildgießerei Hermann Noack GmbH & Co.''), is a German art foundry in Berlin, named after its original proprietor and his three direct descendants, all with the same name, who have run the business. ...

as Fritz Hannemann, Abiturient * Jochen Kuhlmey as Walter Mettke, Klassen-Primus *

Horst Beck Horst may refer to: Science * Horst (geology), a raised fault block bounded by normal faults or graben People * Horst (given name) * Horst (surname) * ter Horst, Dutch surname * van der Horst, Dutch surname Places Settlements Germany * Hor ...

as Karl Maier, Abiturient * Hans Engelhardt as Willi Holzhüter, Abiturient * Dieter Horn as Franz Möller, Abiturient * Friedrich Karl as Erwin Pape, Quintaner *

Hugo Froelich Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...

as Nockelmann, Hausmeister * Anneliese Würtz as Frau Nockelmann * Else Bötticher as Frau Albing *

Fritz Reiff Fritz Reiff (1888–1953) was a German stage and film actor.Volker p. 354 Primarily a theatre actor, he appeared in a number of films made by the Munich-based company Bavaria Film Bavaria Film is a German film production and distribution comp ...

as Herr Sengebusch * Nany Mangelsdorf as Frau Mettke *

Ellen Geyer Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: *Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress *Ellen ...

as Dienstmädchen bei Dr. Kerner * Jochen Blume as Andreas Bolz, Abiturient * H.J. Wieland as Otto Ohlerich, Abiturient * Herbert Stockder as Herrmann Puttbrese, Abiturient * Andree Hanfmann as Ernst Rauch, Abiturient

Reception

Writing for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' in 1936,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

described the film as entertaining and praised the film's charmingly realistic characterization of both German school masters and their pupils. Greene highlighted the "light lyrical treatment of some of the scenes", adding that while "unsentimental, he film isnot unkindly n its depictionof emotional awkwardness." (reprinted in: )

References

Bibliography

* Heins, Laura. ''Nazi Film Melodrama''. University of Illinois Press, 2013.

External links

* 1933 films 1933 drama films German drama films Films of Nazi Germany 1930s German-language films Films directed by Carl Froelich German black-and-white films Films set in schools Tobis Film films 1930s German films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub