''The Girl from Flanders'' (german: Ein Mädchen aus Flandern) is a 1956 romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Helmut Käutner Helmut Käutner (25 March 1908 – 20 April 1980) was a German film director active mainly in the 1940s and 1950s. He entered the film industry at the end of the Weimar Republic and released his first films as a director in Nazi Germany. Käu ...

starring Nicole Berger, Maximilian Schell, and

Viktor de Kowa Viktor de Kowa (also spelled Victor de Kowa, born Victor Paul Karl Kowalczyk; 8 March 1904 – 8 April 1973) was a German stage and film actor, chanson singer, director, narrator, and comic poet. Life He was born the son of a farmer and engineer ...

. It is an adaption of the novel '' Engele von Löwen'' (Angele de Louvain) written by

Carl Zuckmayer Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer. Life and career Born in Nackenheim in Rhenish Hesse, he was ...

. It was shot at the

Tempelhof Studios The Tempelhof Studios are a film studio located in Tempelhof in the German capital of Berlin. They were founded in 1912, during the silent era, by German film pioneer Alfred Duskes, who built a glass-roofed studio on the site with financial bac ...

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

location filming In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...

around the town of Damme in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Emil Hasler and

Walter Kutz Walter Kutz (1904 – 1983) was a German art director.Langford p.223 Selected filmography * ''Nora'' (1944) * '' Dreaming'' (1944) * ''The Silent Guest'' (1945) * '' And the Heavens Above Us'' (1947) * ''Nights on the Nile'' (1949) * '' The Cha ...

Plot

1914, German advance through

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

: the young war volunteer Alexander 'Alex' Haller (Schell) is given water by an equally young Belgian woman (Berger). 1917, Third Battle of Flanders: Alex, now a 2nd lieutenant, is tired about the propaganda at the

Home Front Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin raids and endured food rations as part of what came t ...

, so he spends his furlough in the

hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...

of the Western Front. While boarding in a brothel, he meets the young woman again. They fall in love. Late 1918, German retreat after the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

: Engele and Alex meet again only to be harassed by a Belgian mob. Shortly prior to be hanged by the mob, a group of passing Belgian soldiers, tired about killing, saves them. End of the tale.

Cast

References

External links

* 1956 romantic drama films 1950s war drama films German romantic drama films German war drama films West German films Films based on works by Carl Zuckmayer Films directed by Helmut Käutner German World War I films Western Front (World War I) films Films set in Belgium Films shot in Belgium Films shot at Tempelhof Studios UFA GmbH films 1950s German films 1950s German-language films German black-and-white films {{1950s-Germany-film-stub