''The Flying Classroom'' (german: Das fliegende Klassenzimmer) is a 1954 West German

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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

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 ''W ...

and starring Paul Dahlke, Heliane Bei and

Paul Klinger Paul Karl Heinrich Klinksik (14 June 1907, Essen – 14 November 1971, Munich) was a German stage and film actor who also worked in radio drama and soundtrack dubbing. Family life His father, a civil engineer, was Karl Heinrich Klinksik; his moth ...

.Bock & Bergfelder p.208 It is an adaptation of the 1933 novel ''

The Flying Classroom ''The Flying Classroom'' (German: ''Das fliegende Klassenzimmer'') is a 1933 novel for children written by the German writer Erich Kästner. In the book Kästner took up the predominantly British genre of the school story, taking place in a b ...

'' by

Erich Kästner Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including '' Emil and the Detectives''. He received ...

. It was made at the

Bavaria Studios Bavaria Studios are film production studios located in Munich, the capital of the region of Bavaria in Germany, and a subsidiary of Bavaria Film. History The studios were constructed in the suburb of Geiselgasteig in 1919 shortly after the Firs ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

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

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

Robert Herlth Robert Herlth (2 May 1893 – 6 January 1962) was a German art director. He was one of the leading designers of German film sets during the 1920s and 1930s.Reimer & Reimer p.146 Filmography * ''Masks'' (1920) * '' Island of the Dead'' (1921) * ' ...

. It was shot on location in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

and

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

Cast

* Paul Dahlke as Justus * Heliane Bei as Schwester Beate *

as Der Nichtraucher *

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 Der Sanitätsrat *

Bruno Hübner Bruno Hübner (1899–1983) was an Austrian film and television actor known for his work in Germany.Goble p.412 He was born in Reichenberg then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which later became part of Czechoslovakia. Selected filmography * ''Pu ...

as Prof. Kreuzkamm *

Herbert Kroll Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herber ...

as Direktor Grünkern *

Rudolf Vogel Rudolf Vogel (born 10 November 1900, Planegg – died 9 August 1967, Munich) was a German film and television actor. He was the father of Peter Vogel, the father-in-law of Austrian actress Gertraud Jesserer and the grandfather of actor-journalis ...

as Friseur Krüger *

Willy Reichert Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

as Martins Vater *

Ruth Hausmeister Ruth Hausmeister (5 June 1912 – 1 February 2012) was a German actress whose career, centered primarily in theater, spanned decades. She also had more than eighty credits in German film and television as well. Her film credits included '' The L ...

as Martins Mutter *

Arno Ebert The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a s ...

as Johnnys Vater * Peter Vogel as Der schöne Theodor *

Peter Tost Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

as Martin *

Peter Kraus Peter Kraus (born 18 March 1939) is an Austrian-German singer and actor. Born Peter Siegfried Krausenecker in Munich, Germany, Kraus was popular especially in the 1950s, notably in those musical comedy films where he played opposite Cornelia F ...

as Johnny * Bert Brandt as Matz *

Knut Mahlke Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used whi ...

as Uli *

Axel Arens Axel may refer to: People * Axel (name), all persons with the name Places * Axel, Netherlands, a town ** Capture of Axel, a battle at Axel in 1586 Arts, entertainment, media * ''Axel'', a 1988 short film by Nigel Wingrove * ''Axel'', a Cirque d ...

as Sebastian *

Michael Verhoeven Michael Verhoeven (born 13 July 1938) is a German film director. Life and work Verhoeven is the son of the German film director Paul Verhoeven (not to be confused with the Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven). He married actress Senta Berger in ...

as Ferdinand *

Bernhard von der Planitz Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar *Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 1946 ...

as Egerland * Michael von Welser as Kreuzkamm jr.

References

Bibliography

* Hans-Michael Bock and Tim Bergfelder. ''The Concise Cinegraph: An Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

* 1954 films 1954 comedy films German comedy films West German films 1950s German-language films Films directed by Kurt Hoffmann Films based on children's books Films based on German novels Films based on works by Erich Kästner Films set in schools Films set in boarding schools 1950s high school films Films shot at Bavaria Studios German black-and-white films 1950s German films {{1950s-Germany-film-stub