''The Court Concert'' (german: Das Hofkonzert) is a 1936 German historical

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by Detlef Sierck (later known as Douglas Sirk), and starring Mártha Eggerth,

Johannes Heesters Johan Marius Nicolaas Heesters (5 December 1903 – 24 December 2011), known professionally as Johannes Heesters, was a Dutch actor of stage, television and film, as well as a vocalist of numerous recordings and performer on the concert stag ...

, and

Kurt Meisel Kurt Meisel (18 August 1912 – 4 April 1994) was an Austrian actor and film director. He appeared in 65 films between 1934 and 1994. He also directed 21 films between 1949 and 1984. Meisel was married to the actress Ursula Lingen. He was born a ...

.Hake p. 142 It was made by the largest German studio

UFA Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital city, capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Ufa River, Ufa rivers, in the centre-n ...

, based on '' Das kleine Hofkonzert''. It is part of a group of

operetta films Operetta films (German: Operettenfilm) are a genre of musical films associated with, but not exclusive to, German language cinema. The genre began in the late 1920s, but its roots stretch back into the tradition of nineteenth century Viennese ope ...

made during the 1930s. The film was made 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 List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

with sets designed by the art director

Fritz Maurischat Fritz Maurischat (April 27, 1893 in Berlin – December 11, 1986) was a German production designer. He made his film debut in 1924. Over the next 38 years, he worked on over 70 films, all of them in his native Germany. He earned an Oscar nominati ...

. A separate French-language version was also made. It was remade by

Tobis Film Tobis Film was a German film production and film distribution company. Founded in the late 1920s as a merger of several companies involved in the switch from silent to sound films, the organisation emerged as a leading German sound studio. Tob ...

in the later stages of 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 opposi ...

using

agfacolor An Agfacolor slide dated 1937 from café in Oslo, Norway. An Agfacolor slide dated 1937 from Paris, France. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 from Hungary. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 from Zakopane in Poland. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 fr ...

, but the resulting film didn't get a release until 1948.

Synopsis

In the small principality of

Immendingen Immendingen is a municipality in the district of Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany located on the Upper Danube. It is famous for the Danube Sinkhole. Geography Immendingen is located on the Upper Danube. On the municipal area are part ...

in Germany in 1847, the annual court concert at the palace is in danger of being cancelled, because the court singer Tamara Pinelli has lost her voice due to a broken heart. The Prince sends to Munich for a renowned singer named Belotti, to replace Pinelli. At the same time, the young Christine Holm arrives in Immendingen. Christine's mother has recently died, and she is looking for her father, who met her mother in Immendingern. At the border, Christine meets a border guard, Lieutenant Walter von Arnegg, who falls in love with her. When Christine is accused of being a loose woman by a fellow traveler on her coach, Walter defends Christine and pretends to be her fiancee in order to protect her honor. Walter and Christine begin dating and fall in love. Christine has brought a poem with her to Immendingen that her mother always carried with her as the only memento of Christine's father. Christine traces the poem's origin to an impoverished poet named Knips, who writes poems for cash for local lovers. Christine visits Knips in his garret apartment and tells him about her search. Knips tells Christine that her mother was once a singer at the royal court. He knew her briefly, and he only knows that Christine's father was a high-ranking man from the royal court. Before Christine can investigate any further, she is expelled from the principality by Minister of State von Arnegg, who wants to end his son's improper relationship with this illegitimately born woman, who does not know her own father, as soon as possible. Walter escorts Christine to the border, on orders from his father. At the border they encounter the coach that was sent to Munich to find Belotti. The driver complains that he failed, but Christine laughs and explains that Belotti is her own stage name. Christine is Belotti. Christine returns to the court of Immendingen with an escort of honor and is presented to the Prince. Christine continues her search for her father, but her mother's files are locked away in the city archives by order of State Minister von Arnegg. Christine comes to believe that von Arnegg is her father and ends her relationship with Walter, believing him to be her brother. During the rehearsals for the court concert, Pinelli becomes angry at having been replaced and burns the only text of the song that is performed every year, but Christine stuns everyone when she knows the lyrics to the song, which was never performed outside of the palace - it was her mother's favorite song. During the concert, the Prince learns the name of Christine's mother and is overcome with emotion as he listens to Christine sing the same song her mother did, on the same stage her mother did. After the concert, the Prince invites Christine to stay on at court as a chamber singer and tells her she can marry Walter, but Christine refuses because she could not marry her brother. The Prince then reveals that he is her father, and Christine and Walter get engaged. The Prince also invites Knips to live at court, at Christine's suggestion, and appoints him the court poet.

Cast

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Court Concert, The 1936 films Films of Nazi Germany German historical comedy films German romantic comedy films 1936 romantic comedy films 1930s historical comedy films Films set in the 19th century Operetta films Films based on operettas 1930s German-language films Films directed by Douglas Sirk German multilingual films German black-and-white films UFA GmbH films 1930s historical romance films 1936 multilingual films 1930s German films Films shot at Babelsberg Studios