Otto – Der Film (German: ''Otto, the movie'') is a 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 ...
from 1985, starring
Otto Waalkes
Otto Gerhard Waalkes (born 22 July 1948), also known as simply Otto, is a German comedian, actor, musician, writer, and comic book artist. He became famous in the 1970s and 1980s in Germany with his shows, books and films. His best known tradema ...
. With 14.5 million sold tickets it is among the most successful German movies.''
It was shot at the
Spandau Studios
The Spandau Studios or CCC Studios were film and television studios located in Spandau, a suburb of Berlin. They were established in 1949 following the Second World War by the producer Artur Brauner controller of CCC Films, on the site of a forme ...
in
West Berlin
West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...
, with sets 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 ...
Hans Jürgen Kiebach
Hans Jürgen Kiebach (28 August 1930 – 19 May 1995) was a German production designer, art director and set decorator. He won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film ''Cabaret''.
Selected filmography
* '' Three D ...
.
Location shooting
Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior.
When filmmaking professionals refer to shooting "on location", they are ...
took place around
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
.
Plot
The film starts with debris floating in the middle of the ocean, including a toilet seat, through which Otto emerges and begins to relate how he has gotten to be in this situation.
Otto, a young
East Frisia
East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...
n country boy, comes to the big city to make his fortune. Unfortunately, his naivety nearly ruins everything from the start as he falls victim to a
loan shark
A loan shark is a person who offers loans at Usury, extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of debt collection, collection, and generally operates criminal, outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, ...
—conveniently going under the name of "Shark"—from whom he borrows the capital to start his own forwarding business; the resulting debt of 9,876
DM and 50
Pfennig
The pfennig (; . 'pfennigs' or 'pfennige' ; currency symbol, symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former Germany, German coin or note, which was an official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valua ...
becomes a constant object of worry and temptation for Otto throughout the film.
During one of his earlier attempts to make money, Otto inadvertently saves the life of Silvia von Kohlen und Reibach, the young prospective heiress of an enormous family fortune. Otto is introduced to the Kohlen und Reibachs to receive their gratitude, but Otto is quick to note that he could use their wealth to pay back his debt. But every chance he gets slips through his fingers, either owing to the callings of his conscience (such as when he attempts to shoot a hare for a reward which matches his debts exactly) or by dumb luck (when the wine he receives from the Kohlen und Reibachs turns out to be quite valuable, but only after a wine lover has consumed a considerable quantity of it).
Silvia and Otto also find themselves drawn to each other, but their main obstacle against their getting together is Silvia's stern mother, Konsulin ("
Consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...
") von Kohlen und Reibach, who wishes her daughter to marry someone from their social class. She has already identified a suitable candidate in Ernesto, a handsome
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
n millionaire.
In the end, Otto realizes his true affections for Silvia only after she and her mother prepare to depart for
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
for Silvia's wedding to Ernesto. On his way to tell Silvia about his feelings, Otto gets mixed up in a bank robbery committed by disputatious Sonnemann and Haenlein. Otto later smuggles himself aboard the plane the Kohlen und Reibachs are on, but among the passengers are also the two bankrobbers. Otto, disguised as the radio operator, attempts to inform
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
but instead hits the pilot's announcement system, prompting Sonnemann and Haenlein to
hijack
Hijack, Highjack, or High Jack may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Hijack'' (1973 film), an American television action film
* ''Hijack!'' (1975 film), a British children's drama film
* ''Hijack'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi-language action f ...
the plane. Unfortunately, the two break out into another argument, in which course they knock out both pilots, so they force Otto to fly. This of course results in mayhem when Otto sends the plane rolling, subduing the two bankrobbers in the process; Otto reveals his presence and his love to Silvia, who happily joins him in the cockpit, and Konsulin von Kohle und Reichbach has to learn to her shock that "Ernesto" is really a fraud named Harald.
Otto subsequently attempts to land the
passenger jet on an
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...
, but of course fails spectacularly, thus looping back to the film's beginning sequence. Fortunately, all passengers on the plane, including Silvia and her mother, reach a tropical island, where they receive the warm welcome of a
polonaise
The polonaise (, ; , ) is a dance originating in Poland, and one of the five Polish folk dances#National Dances, Polish national dances in Triple metre, time. The original Polish-language name of the dance is ''chodzony'' (), denoting a walki ...
from the local
carnival
Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras.
Carnival typi ...
-obsessed natives and Otto and Silvia finally become an item.
Cast
*
Otto Waalkes
Otto Gerhard Waalkes (born 22 July 1948), also known as simply Otto, is a German comedian, actor, musician, writer, and comic book artist. He became famous in the 1970s and 1980s in Germany with his shows, books and films. His best known tradema ...
: Otto
*
Jessika Cardinahl: Silvia von Kohlen und Reibach
*
Elisabeth Wiedemann: Konsulin von Kohlen und Reibach
*
Sky du Mont
Cayetano Neven du Mont (; born 20 May 1947), known professionally as Sky du Mont (, ), is a German-Argentine actor.
Early life
Sky du Mont's family, who are related to the famous publishers DuMont Schauberg, fled the Nazis in the 1930s to Sou ...
: Ernesto (aka Harald)
*
Peter Kuiper: Shark
*
Karl Lieffen
Karl Lieffen (17 May 1926 – 13 January 1999), born Karel František Lifka, was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 140 films on screen and television between 1949 and 1998.
Biography
He was born in Ossegg (Osek), Czechoslovakia ...
: Flopmann
*
Tilly Lauenstein
Tilly Lauenstein (1916–2002) was a German film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere throu ...
: madam
*
Gottfried John
Gottfried John (; 29 August 1942 – 1 September 2014) was a German stage, screen, and voice actor. A longtime collaborator of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, John appeared in nine of his films between 1975 and 1981, the year before Fassbinder's d ...
: Sonnemann
*
Andreas Mannkopff: Haenlein
*
Lutz Mackensy: springbok owner
*
Johannes Heesters
Johan Marius Nicolaas Heesters (5 December 1903 – 24 December 2011), known professionally as Johannes Heesters, was a Dutch-German actor of stage, television and film, as well as a vocalist of numerous recordings and performer on the conce ...
: wine lover
*
Günther Kaufmann
Günther Kaufmann (16 June 1947 – 10 May 2012) was a German film actor best known for his association with director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Fassbinder directed Kaufmann in a total of 14 films, casting him in leading and minor roles. Kaufman ...
: soldier "Bimbo"
*
Panos Papadopulos
Panos Papadopoulos (Greek: Πάνος Παπαδόπουλος; 1 August 1920, in Kerassus, Ottoman Empire – 18 February 2001, in Munich) was a Greek actor.
Selected filmography
* '' Hello, Fraulein!'' (1949) – Musiker
* '' Jonny Saves Neb ...
: Stavros
*
Wilken F. Dincklage: barkeeper
*
Erich Bar: rocker
Reception
The film was a box office success and had a record opening in West Germany with 768,535 admissions in its first weekend.
Notes
*In German, the terms in the name "Kohlen und Reibach" are informal terms for "money" and "profit", used here as a parodic statement playing off the name of industrial dynasty
von Bohlen und Halbach.
*The film features a parody of
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
's
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
''
Thriller'', except that the
zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...
dancers are replaced here with lookalikes of the German folksinger
Heino
Heinz Georg Kramm (born 13 December 1938), known professionally as Heino, is a German singer of Schlager and traditional Volksmusik. Having sold a total of over 50 million records, he is one of the most successful German musicians of all time ...
adapting the song's tunes to the lyrics of Heino's version of "
Schwarzbraun ist die Haselnuss".
*The polonaise song played during the appearance of the island natives is a recording of
Gottlieb Wendehals'
Polonäse Blankenese, which was a
German chart hit in 1982.
Sequels
' (''Otto: The New Movie''), released in July 1987, had an even better opening weekend with admissions of 1,042,876, another German record.
[ This was followed by ' (''Otto: The Alien from East Frisia'') (1989); ' (''Otto: The Romance Film'') (1992); and ' (''Otto: The Disaster Movie'') (2000). ''Otto – Der Liebesfilm'' was the highest grossing German film of 1992 with 2.8 million admissions and a gross over $10 million.]
References
External links
*
''Otto – Der Film''
at ''Filmportal.de''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto - Der Film
1985 films
1985 comedy films
German comedy films
West German films
1980s German-language films
German aviation films
Films produced by Horst Wendlandt
Films shot at Spandau Studios
1980s German films
German-language comedy films