''The Impossible Mister Pitt'' (German: ''Der unmögliche Herr Pitt'') is a 1938 German

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by and starring

Harry Piel Heinrich Piel (12 July 1892 – 27 March 1963), known professionally as Harry Piel, was a prolific German actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer who was involved in over 150 films. Piel became a director in 1912, turning out such ...

. It also features

Willi Schur Willi Schur (22 August 1888 – 1 November 1940) was a German actor and singer. He appeared in roughly ninety feature films in a variety of supporting roles. Selected filmography * '' Berlin-Alexanderplatz'' (1931) * ''Who Takes Love Seriously?' ...

Leopold von Ledebur Leopold von Ledebur (18 May 1876 – 22 August 1955) was a German stage and film actor. Selected filmography * '' Carmen'' (1918) * ''The Serenyi'' (1918) * ''Midnight'' (1918) * ''The Foolish Heart'' (1919) * ''The Golden Lie'' (1919) * '' Th ...

and

Hilde Weissner Hilde Weissner (3 July 1909 – 30 May 1987) was a German actress. Life and career Born on 3 July 1909 in Stettin, Germany (in what is, today, Szczecin, Poland), Hilde Weissner made her theatrical acting debut at the Schiller-Theatre in Hamburg- ...

. It was shot at the

Babelsberg Studios Babelsberg Film Studio (german: Filmstudio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the second oldest large-scale film studio in the world only preceded by the Danish Nordisk Film (est. 1906), producing films since ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and on location off the coast of

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. 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 ...

s Otto Erdmann and

Hans Sohnle Hans Sohnle (17 September 1895 – 24 March 1976) was a German art director.Chandler p.270 He frequently collaborated with Otto Erdmann on set designs. Selected filmography * ''The Loves of Käthe Keller'' (1919) * '' The Woman in Doctor's Garb ...

. It was based on the novel of the same title by Georg Mühlen-Schulte who also worked on the screenplay.Goble p.337

Synopsis

Two men, Tom and Tim escape from a Tunisian

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

where they had been doing hard labour after being arrested following a brawl and not having correct

identity document An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any documentation, document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID c ...

s. They board a

luxury yacht A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...

and encounter Lucienne and her father Thomas Cay. Tom impersonates a man called Pitt who is engaged to Lucienne and she, taking a liking to him, plays along. He soon uncovers a plot to

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

the yacht.

Cast

as Tom *

as Tim *

as Thomas Cay *

as Lucienne, seine Tochter *

Hans Junkermann Hennes "Hans" Junkermann (6 May 1934 – 11 April 2022) was a German professional racing cyclist who won 35 road races in 18 seasons from 1956 to 1973. He won the German National Road Race in 1959, 1960, and 1961. Biography Junkermann was bor ...

as Lord Bonnycastle *

Julia Serda Julia Serda (6 April 1875 – 3 December 1965) was an Austrian stage and film actress.Grange p.120 She was married to the actor Hans Junkermann. Biography Julia Serda was born on 6 April 1875 in Vienna. She became fascinated by the stage at an ea ...

as Lady Jane *

Hans Stiebner Hans Stiebner (19 November 1898 – 27 March 1958) was a German actor. Steibner was born in Vetschau, Germany as Hans Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Paul Stiebner. He died in 1958 in Baden-Baden, West Germany. Selected filmography * ''The Grand Duke ...

as Anatol Mabub *

Werner Scharf Werner Scharf (19 September 1905 – 30 April 1945) was a German actor. He appeared in more than 45 films between 1929 and 1945. Personal life Scharf served in the ''Volkssturm'' during the Second World War and was killed in action on 30 A ...

as José Galvez *

Hans Hermann Schaufuß Hans Hermann Schaufuß (13 July 1893 – 30 January 1982) was a German actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1922 to 1969. His sons were actors Hans Joachim Schaufuß Hans Joachim Schaufuß (transliterated: Schaufuss) (28 Decemb ...

as René Mouche *

Ursula Grabley Ursula Grabley (8 December 1908 – 3 April 1977) was a German actress. She appeared in more than 80 films and television shows between 1929 and 1977. Selected filmography * '' Katharina Knie'' (1929) * '' The Concert'' (1931) * '' That's ...

as Amélie, seine Tochter *

Leonie Duval Leonie or Léonie is a Latin-origin feminine given name meaning "lioness", from the masculine personal name ''Leon'' (meaning "lion"). Leonie evolved to Léonie in France. It is rare as a surname. People People with the name or its variants i ...

as Fauchette *

Hans Zesch-Ballot Hans Zesch-Ballot (20 May 1896 – 1 September 1972) was a German film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern m ...

as Picard, Polizeiinspektor *

Olaf Bach Olaf Bach (1892–1963) was a German film actor.Goble p.223 Selected filmography * '' William Tell'' (1934) * '' Trouble with Jolanthe'' (1934) * ''Stjenka Rasin'' (1936) * ''Shadows Over St. Pauli'' (1938) * ''Women for Golden Hill'' (1938) * '' ...

as Nicole, Matrose * Fritz Klaudius as Ponpon, Matrose *

Louis Brody Louis Brody (born Ludwig M'bebe Mpessa; 15 February 1896 – 11 February 1951) was a Cameroonian-born German film actor, musician and showfighter. Brody was born in Douala, in the German colony of Kamerun, now Cameroon. His career began in the 1 ...

as Hannibal, Matrose * Klaus Pohl as Parker, Matrose * Victor Bell as Schwarzer Kunde beim Barbier *

Charly Berger ''Charly'' (marketed and stylized as ''CHAЯLY'') is a 1968 American drama film directed and produced by Ralph Nelson and written by Stirling Silliphant. It is based on ''Flowers for Algernon'', a science-fiction short story (1958) and subseque ...

as Funker des Polizeikutters *

Horst Birr Horst Birr (17 February 1912 – 8 October 1943) was a German actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1934 and 1941. Birr was a member of the Nazi Party. There are different accounts about his death. Some sources state that he comm ...

as Schiffsjunge * Peter Busse as Italienischer Wirt *

Gerhard Dammann Gerhard Dammann (30 March 1883 – 21 February 1946) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * '' The Man in the Cellar'' (1914) * ''Under the Lantern'' (1928) * '' Eva in Silk'' (1928) * '' Lemke's Widow'' (1928) * ''When the Mother and ...

as Rechtsanwalt *

Jac Diehl JAC or Jac may refer to: Businesses *JAC Liner, a Philippine bus company * JAC Motors, a Chinese automobile manufacturer *Japan Air Commuter airline (ICAO: JAC) Organizations * JAC (football club), a football club from Libreville, Gabon *Japanes ...

as Kellner * Max Diekmann as Raufender Matrose *

Erich Dunskus Erich Adolf Dunskus (27 July 1890 – 25 November 1967) was a German film actor. He appeared in 170 films between 1927 and 1966. He was born in Pillkallen, East Prussia and died in Hagen, Germany. Selected filmography * '' The King of Pa ...

as Kapitän Hook *

Angelo Ferrari Angelo Ferrari (14 August 1897 – 15 June 1945) was an Italian actor known for his work in German cinema. Selected filmography * ''The Nude Woman'' (1922) * ''The Green Manuela'' (1923) * ''Samson'' (1923) * '' The Faces of Love'' (1924) * ''Pr ...

as Schnellrichter * Cläre Gilb as Mädchen im Gefängnis *

Fred Goebel Fred Goebel (3 April 1891 – 16 May 1964) was a German film actor. He was born as Walter Goebel and was sometimes credited as Fred Selva-Goebel. Selected filmography * '' Child on the Open Road'' (1919) * '' The Dance of Death'' (1919) * '' Bett ...

as Polizist * Jochen Hauer as Duval, Erster Offizier *

Mohamed Husen Bayume Mohamed Husen (born Mahjub bin Adam Mohamed; 22 February 1904 – 24 November 1944) was an Afro-German soldier, actor and victim of Nazi persecution. Husen, the son of a former askari officer, served together with his father in World War I ...

as Kameltreiber *

Alfred Karen Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interl ...

as Mann beim Notar * Ernst Albert Schaach as Sekretär des Untersuchungsrichters * Paul Schneider-Duncker as Sekretär bei Cay *

Georg H. Schnell Georg Heinrich Schnell (11 April 1878 – 31 March 1951) was a German actor who remains perhaps best-known for his role as shipowner Harding in ''Nosferatu, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens'' (1922). Georg appeared in over one hundred fi ...

as Chiron, Senator * F.W. Schröder-Schrom as Ricaut, Notar * Hasso Sherief-Osmann as Schwarzer Diener des Notars *

Otto Stoeckel Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

as Untersuchungsrichter *

Aruth Wartan Aruth Wartan (or ''Haruth Vartan'', hy, Հարութ Վարդան, 23 June 1880 – 14 April 1945) was a German film actor of Armenian origin who appeared in around ninety films during his career, generally in supporting roles. Life and career B ...

as Arabi * Sergei Woischeff as Kapitän des Polizeikutters

References

Bibliography

* Giesen, Rolf. ''The Nosferatu Story: The Seminal Horror Film, Its Predecessors and Its Enduring Legacy''. McFarland, 2019. * Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Noack, Frank. ''Veit Harlan: The Life and Work of a Nazi Filmmaker''. University Press of Kentucky, 2016. * Rentschler, Eric. ''The Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema and Its Afterlife''. Harvard University Press, 1996.

External links

* 1938 films Films of Nazi Germany German adventure films 1930s adventure films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Harry Piel Terra Film films 1930s German films Films based on German novels Seafaring films Films shot at Babelsberg Studios Films shot in Croatia Films set in Tunisia Films set in Sicily {{1930s-Germany-film-stub