''Charley's Aunt'' () is a 1956 West German

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Hans Quest Hans Quest (August 20, 1915 – March 29, 1997) was a German actor and film director. Selected filmography Director *''Wenn der Vater mit dem Sohne'' (1955) *''The Happy Wanderer (1955 film), The Happy Wanderer'' (1955) *''Charley's Aunt (1956 ...

and starring

Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...

Hertha Feiler Hertha Feiler (3 August 1916, Vienna – 1 November 1970, Munich) was an Austrian actress. She was married to the comedian Heinz Rühmann with whom she starred in several films. She was of Jewish descent. Filmography References External links ...

and Claus Biederstaedt.Bock & Bergfelder p.340 It is an adaptation of the 1892 British play ''

Charley's Aunt ''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot in ...

'' by

Brandon Thomas Brandon Thomas may refer to: *Brandon Thomas (playwright) (1848–1914), English actor and playwright who wrote the hit farce, ''Charley's Aunt'' * Brandon Thomas (musician) (born 1980), American rock band singer *Brandon Thomas (American football) ...

. It was made at the

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs of Berlin, boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence (geography), confluence of the Havel and Spree (river), Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smalle ...

and Tempelhof Studios in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

s Hans Kuhnert and Peter Schlewski. It was shot in

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was o ...

Plot

Commercial Attaché Dr. Otto Dernburg travels to Germany from South America for business negotiations. His eye falls on the attractive millionaire Carlotta Ramirez. But first he visits his younger brother Ralf, who lives in an attic apartment with his friend Charley. The two are expecting the attractive Swedes Ulla and Britta, but are afraid of their strict uncle Niels. Charley's unknown aunt, who also wanted to come, apologized at short notice. But Britta and Ulla don't want to stay alone with the two men. For the sake of his brother and to save the evening, Dr. Dernburg dresses up as Charley's aunt. The situation becomes increasingly complicated when Charley's father and uncle Niels show up. However, the fake aunt manages to placate both of them. Finally, the real aunt appears, who is none other than Carlotta Ramirez. At first she is very piqued because the wrong aunt is wearing the dress that Dernburg's butler had stolen shortly before. She embarrasses the fake aunt, but doesn't let her get caught. Dr. Dernburg drops his disguise only after the women have left. The next day, Carlotta shows up in the dress Dernburg wore the night before. She shows him that she saw through him, but doesn't hold grudges against him.

Cast

as Doctor Otto Dernburg *

as Carlotta Ramirez * Claus Biederstaedt as Ralf Dernburg *

Walter Giller Walter Giller (23 August 1927 – 15 December 2011) was a German actor. He was very successful in the 1950s and 1960s, when he was often seen as a comedic leading man. One of his most successful and more serious roles was in ''Roses for the Pro ...

as Charley Sallmann * Ruth Stephan as Mona *

Bum Krüger Bum Krüger (born ''Willy Krüger''; 13 March 1906 - 15 March 1971) was a German actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1948 to 1969. Filmography References External links * 1906 births 1971 deaths German male film ...

as Peter *

Hans Olden Hans Olden (1892–1975) was an Austrian stage and film actor. Olden appeared in more than eighty films during his career, mostly in Austria but occasionally also in Germany. He was a supporter of the Austrian Nazi Party, his interest in Nazism ...

as Wolke * Ina Peters as Britta Nielsen * Elisa Loti as Ulla Bergström *

Hans Leibelt Hans Leibelt (11 March 1885 in Leipzig, German Empire – 3 December 1974 in Munich, West Germany) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * ''Heimliche Sünder'' (1926) * ''The False Prince (1927 film), The False Prince'' (1927) * ' ...

as Niels Bergström *

Paul Hörbiger Paul Hörbiger (29 April 1894 – 5 March 1981) was an Austrians, Austrian theatre and film actor. Life and work Paul Hörbiger was born in the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, Hungarian capital Budapest, then part of Austria-Hungary, the ...

as August Sallmann * Helmuth Rudolph as Consul general * Hilde von Stolz as Consul general's wife *

Wolfgang Neuss Wolfgang Neuss (3 December 1923 – 5 May 1989) was a German actor and Kabarett artist. Wolfgang Neuss and (1922–1960) were a popular double act. Beginning in the mid-1960s, Neuss also became famous for his political engagement, first for ...

as Head porter * Ewald Wenck as Hotel concierge * Wolfgang Condrus as bell boy * Wulf Rittscher as Night club owner * Wolfgang Völz as Police man

References

Bibliography

* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

* 1956 films West German films 1956 comedy films German comedy films 1950s German-language films Films directed by Hans Quest Films based on Charley's Aunt Films shot at Spandau Studios Films shot at Tempelhof Studios Films shot in Berlin Constantin Film films 1950s German films German-language comedy films {{1950s-Germany-comedy-film-stub