''The Major and the Bulls'' (German: ''Der Major und die Stiere'') is a 1955 West German

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

Eduard von Borsody Eduard von Borsody (; 13 June 1898 – 1 January 1970) was an Austrian cameraman, film editor, film director, and screenplay writer. Biography His film career began as a cameraman. Among his first jobs were three films on which Mihály Kertés ...

and starring

Fritz Tillmann Fritz Tillmann (December 13, 1910 – October 30, 1986) was a German actor. Selected filmography * ''Hoegler's Mission'' (1950) - Fritz Rottmann * '' The Council of the Gods'' (1950) - Dr. Hans Scholz * '' Master of Life and Death'' (1955) - Dr ...

Christiane Hörbiger Christiane Hörbiger (13 October 1938 – 30 November 2022) was an Austrian stage, film, and television actress. Her first major film role was Mary Vetsera in '' Kronprinz Rudolfs letzte Liebe'' in 1955. She appeared on the stage of the Burgthe ...

and

Attila Hörbiger Attila Hörbiger (21 April 1896 – 27 April 1987) was an Austrian stage and movie actor. Life Hörbiger was born in the Hungarian capital Budapest, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the son of engineer Hanns Hörbiger and the young ...

. It is based on the 1953 novel of the same title by Hans Venatier.Fehrenbach p.194 It was shot 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 ...

and in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

. 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 ...

Ernst Schomer Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975- ...

Synopsis

Following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Allied forces arrive to occupy Germany. 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 ...

in the

American Zone Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Franc ...

, an army

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

tries to prevent fraternising between his troops and the locals. This quickly breaks down as several romantic relationships begin between local girls and the

G.I. G.I. are initials used to describe the soldiers of the United States Army and airmen of the United States Air Force and general items of their equipment. The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of "Government Issue", "General Issue", or " ...

s while the obstinate

peasants A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

eventually overcome their dislike of being ordered about by the military.

Cast

as Major William Sunlet *

as Marie *

as Koltnerbauer *

Hans von Borsody Hans von Borsody (; 20 September 1929 – 4 November 2013) was a German film actor. He was born in Vienna into an artistic family of Hungarian descent. His father Eduard was a film director, his uncle Julius a set designer.(in German) His daughte ...

as George *

Eva Probst Eva Irene Probst (21 April 1930 – 19 November 2018) was a German actress. Biography Born in Berlin-Kreuzberg, Probst was married to Austrian actor Gerhard Riedmann from 1954-60. In the 1950s, she starred in romantic comedy films and ''Heima ...

as Mrs. Wendlandt *

Chris Howland Chris Howland (30 July 1928 – 29 November 2013)Press release
Mhowland.de, accessdate 3 December 2013 was a British rad ...

as Sergeant Bobby *

Olga von Togni Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia, ...

as Koltnerbäuerin * Maria Hofen as Stockbäuerin *

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'' (1934) ...

as Hebamme *

Katharina Brauren Katharina Brauren (21 April 1910 – 25 December 1998) was a German actress. She appeared in more than 80 films and television shows between 1937 and 1997. Selected filmography * ''Madame Bovary'' (1937) * ''Third from the Right'' (1950) * ...

as Riedbäuerin *

Nora Minor Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian Places Australia * Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...

as Säusepp-Bäuerin *

Hans Stadtmüller 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, Punjabi a ...

as Aigner * Reinhold Siegert as Krotthefner *

Heinz Laube The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six contin ...

as Riedbauer *

Konrad Mayerhoff Konrad is a German (with variants ''Kunz'' and ''Kunze'') given name and surname that means "bold counselor" and may refer to: People Given name Surname *Alexander Konrad (1890–1940), Russian explorer *Antoine Konrad (born 1975), birth name o ...

as Fengerl *

Karl Meixner Karl Meixner (13 February 1903 – 29 December 1976) was an Austrian film actor. Partial filmography * '' Frederica'' (1932) * ''The Testament of Dr. Mabuse'' (1933) - Hofmeister * '' Hitlerjunge Quex'' (1933) - Wilde * '' Refugees'' (1933) - Pa ...

as Säusepp-Bauer *

Alfred Menhardt 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 Zand * Klaus Pohl as Stockbauer *

Ulrich Beiger Ulrich Beiger (26 August 1918 – 18 September 1996) was a German actor. Selected filmography * ''The Little Residence'' (1942) - Möller * ''The Trip to Marrakesh'' (1949) - Mixer * '' Sensation in Savoy'' (1950) - young Indian * ''Scandal at ...

as CIC-Leutnant Houseman *

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 Landrat Spiegel *

Kurt Hepperlin Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...

as Luck *

Ingrid Lutz Ingrid Marga Irene Lutz (3 March 1924 – 13 November 2021) was a German film actress. Lutz died on 13 November 2021, at the age of 97.Determined by the Berlin film researcher M. Jahnke in cooperation with R. Kettermann, in 2022. Jahnke found h ...

as Sigrid

References

Bibliography

* Fehrenbach, Heide. ''Cinema in Democratizing Germany: Reconstructing National Identity After Hitler''. University of North Carolina Press, 2000.

External links

* 1955 films West German films German comedy films 1955 comedy films 1950s German-language films Films directed by Eduard von Borsody Films shot at Bavaria Studios Films set in Bavaria Films set in 1945 Films based on German novels German black-and-white films 1950s German films {{1950s-Germany-film-stub