' (''The Rats'') is a 1955 West German drama film directed by

Robert Siodmak Robert Siodmak (; 8 August 1900 – 10 March 1973) was a German Jewish film director. His career spanned some 40 years, working extensively in the United States and France, as well as in his native country. Though he worked in many genres, he was ...

. It is an adaptation of the 1911 play '' The Rats'' by

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of Naturalism (literature), literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into h ...

, but sets the story in the early 1950s, shortly after the Second World War. The film won the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

award, the first German film to win. It was shot at the Spandau Studios in Berlin. 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 Jürgen Kiebach and Rolf Zehetbauer.

Synopsis

Pauline, a destitute Polish woman, sells her illegitimate baby for a few hundred

Deutsche Mark The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark (currency), mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later of unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it ...

to the childless Anna John.

Cast

References

External links

* 1955 films 1955 drama films German drama films West German films 1950s German-language films Films set in Berlin Films based on works by Gerhart Hauptmann German films based on plays Films directed by Robert Siodmak Golden Bear winners Films shot at Spandau Studios German black-and-white films 1950s German films {{1950s-Germany-drama-film-stub