''Today Is the Day'' (German: ''Heut' kommt's drauf an'') is a 1933 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

Kurt Gerron Kurt Gerron (11 May 1897 – 28 October 1944) was a German History of the Jews in Germany, Jewish actor and film director. He and his wife, Olga were murdered in the Holocaust. Life Born Kurt Gerson into a well-off merchant family in Berlin, he ...

and starring

Hans Albers Hans Philipp August Albers (22 September 1891 – 24 July 1960) was a German actor and singer. He was the biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1960 and one of the most popular German actors of the twentieth century. Early life ...

Luise Rainer Luise Rainer ( , ; 12 January 1910 – 30 December 2014) was a German-American-British film actress. She was the first thespian to win multiple Academy Awards and the first to win back-to-back; at the time of her death, thirteen days shy of her ...

and

Oskar Karlweis Oskar Leopold Karlweis (often credited Oscar Karlweis; 10 July 1894 – 24 January 1956) was an Austrian-American stage and film actor, active internationally. Career Born in Hinterbrühl, Austria-Hungary, he was the son of playwright Carl Ka ...

. It features a number of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

interludes. 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 ...

Max Knaake Max Knaake (1886–1968) was a German art director.Greco p.186 Selected filmography * ''La Boheme'' (1923) * ''Curfew'' (1925) * '' Battle of the Sexes'' (1926) * '' The Sporck Battalion'' (1927) * '' Hurrah! I Live!'' (1928) * '' The Sinner'' ( ...

and

Julius von Borsody Julius von Borsody (8 April 1892 in Vienna – 18 January 1960, also in Vienna) was an Austrian film architect and one of the most employed set designers in the Austrian and German cinemas of the late silent and early sound film periods. His youn ...

. It premiered at the

Gloria-Palast The Gloria-Palast was a German cinema located on the Kurfürstendamm in the German capital Berlin. It was constructed in 1924 and replaced the existing neo-Baroque Romanischen Hauses designed by Franz Heinrich Schwechten. It became a common loc ...

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 ...

. It was shot between December 1932 and January 1933 during the final months of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

. Despite its popular success the incoming Propaganda Minister

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

described it as "terrible rubbish".Moeller p.65 Due to their

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

background a number of those involved with the film, including the director Gerron and star Rainer, left Germany after the

Nazi takeover Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

Synopsis

Hannes Eckmann, the

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

of a

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

group heads for

to take part in a competition. He encounters Marita Costa a leader of an all-female band and falls for her. After discovering she is short of a

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

for a performance he steps into the role and is a big success. However, when she discovers his real identity as a rival conductor she believes it is all part of an underhand scheme to sabotage her ahead of the big competition.

Cast

as Hannes Eckmann *

as Marita Costa *

as Peter Schlemm *

Oskar Sima Oskar Sima (31 July 1896 – 24 June 1969) was an Austrian actor who is best remembered for appearing in supporting roles in countless comedy films from the 1930s to the 1960s. Born in Hohenau an der March, Lower Austria, Sima attended high sch ...

as Basil, Maritas Impresario *

Max Gülstorff Max Walter Gülstorff (23 March 1882 – 6 February 1947) was a German actor and stage director. Biography Gülstorff was born in Tilsit, East Prussia. He first appeared in 1900 at the Rudolstadt municipal Theater and moved to Cottbus in 1908. ...

as Generaldirektor Bourth *

Baby Gray Baby Gray was a German singer and film actress.Goble p.395 Born on December 20, 1907, she became popular for her work in early German films. Selected filmography * '' Today Is the Day'' (1933) * '' The Flower of Hawaii'' (1933) * ''The Two Seal ...

as Anni, die 'Puppe' * Weintraub Syncopators as Themselves *

Arthur Bergen Arthur Bergen (24 October 1875 – 1943) was an Austrian Jewish actor and film director. He was murdered at Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust.Mary Nolan, Ziegfeld Girl and Silent Movie Star: A Biography Including Her 1941 Memoi ...

Teddy Bill Teddy Bill (18 November 1900 – 11 February 1949) was an Austrian actor. Later in his career he was also credited as Teddy Kern. Selected filmography * ''Princess Trulala'' (1926) - Lackei * ''Vienna - Berlin'' (1926) - Ein Heurigenfänger * ...

* Albert Fischer *

Max Grünberg Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

* Mario Guido *

Philipp Manning Philipp Manning (23 November 1869 – 9 April 1951) was a British-born German actor. He was born in Lewisham to a British father and a German mother. He was sent to Germany for his education and settled there. He often played British characters i ...

Hanna Maron Hanna Maron ( he, חנה מרון; 22 November 1923 – 30 May 2014) was a German-born Israeli actress, comedian and theater personality. She held the world record for the longest career in theater. Life and career Hanna Meierzak was born i ...

Loni Michelis Loni is a somewhat popular female name related to the given names Leonie, Lonna (or Lona) and Lonnie. It may refer to: People * Loni (Pashtun tribe), a branch of the Durrani tribe in Pakistan and Afghanistan ** Arman Loni (1983-2019), Pashtun hu ...

Josef Peterhans Josef Thomas Peterhans (4 December 1882 – 3 February 1960) was a German stage and film actor. Biography Peterhans began his stage career in 1902, aged twenty. He began his film acting career with the film ' in 1916. Before acting in films he ...

Werner Pledath Werner Pledath (26 April 1898 – 6 December 1965) was a German actor who appeared in many films during a lengthy career. He generally played supporting roles such as in '' Five from the Jazz Band'' (1932).Youngkin p.465 Pledath specialized in pla ...

Ludwig Trautmann Ludwig Trautmann (22 November 1885 – 24 January 1957) was a German stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1912 and 1953. He was a member of the jury at the 1st Berlin International Film Festival. Selected filmogra ...

Nico Turoff Nico Turoff (Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and ...

Michael von Newlinsky Michael von Newlinsky (21 June 1891 – 14 August 1964) was an Austrian film actor who appeared in numerous supporting roles during his career, in films such as Georg Wilhelm Pabst's ''Pandora's Box'' (1929).Roberts p.82 Selected filmography * ' ...

References

Bibliography

* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise Cinegraph: Encyclopaedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009. * Moeller, Felix. ''The Film Minister: Goebbels and the Cinema in the Third Reich''. Edition Axel Menges, 2000.

External links

* 1933 films 1933 comedy films Films of the Weimar Republic German comedy films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Kurt Gerron German black-and-white films Films set in Hamburg Films set in Berlin Films shot in Berlin 1930s German films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub