''The Captain from Köpenick'', also known as ''I Was a Criminal'' and ''Passport to Heaven'', is a 1945 American comedy film directed by

Richard Oswald Richard Oswald (5 November 1880 – 11 September 1963) was an Austrian film director, producer, screenwriter, and father of German-American film director Gerd Oswald. Early career Richard Oswald, born in Vienna as Richard W. Ornstein, began h ...

and based upon the 1931 play '' The Captain of Köpenick'' 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 t ...

and Albright Joseph. The play was based on the true story of

Wilhelm Voigt Friedrich Wilhelm Voigt (13 February 1849 – 3 January 1922) was a German impostor who, in 1906, masqueraded as a Prussian military officer, rounded up a number of soldiers under his "command", and "confiscated" more than 4,000 marks from a mu ...

, a German ex-convict who masqueraded as a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n military officer in 1906 and became famous as the Captain of Köpenick. ''The Captain from Köpenick'' was Oswald's second film version of the story; the first was a 1931 German film also called '' The Captain from Köpenick''. In the intervening years Oswald had fled

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

for France, then the United States; this was his first American film. It was completed in 1941, but due to difficulty finding a distributor, it was not released until 1945.

Plot

Shoemaker Wilhelm Voigt is released from prison after many years of hard labor. His freedom is new to him and, as he tries to navigate this strange new world, he promptly finds himself in the midst of a Prussian

catch-22 ''Catch-22'' is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-chr ...

: To get a residence permit (passport), he must have a job, but he can only get a job if he has a residence permit. No one in the Prussian-German bureaucracy feels compelled to help him: everything must go by the book. Out of desperation, Voigt breaks into a police station to forge the much-needed permit and escape the vicious circle. Unfortunately, Voigt is caught and again has to spend many more years behind bars. The prison's warden subjects the prisoners to the whims of his militarism. The warden loves everything military and has the prisoners re-enact famous battles. When Voigt is released, he still doesn't have his permit, but now he has a deep knowledge of military uniforms, military ranks and military speak that he can use to his advantage. In

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

he buys and wears a used captain's uniform, then marches towards a platoon of soldiers standing guard and commands them to immediately follow him to

Köpenick Köpenick () is a historic town and locality (''Ortsteil'') in Berlin, situated at the confluence of the rivers Dahme and Spree in the south-east of the German capital. It was formerly known as Copanic and then Cöpenick, only officially adopt ...

, a suburb of Berlin. He is so convincing that they actually do! When they arrive, he has the soldiers stage a coup-like takeover of the Town Hall so he can commandeer his much sought-after permit, but is informed by the staff the permits are now only issued in Berlin. After he pockets all of the cash in the municipal treasury, he orders his soldiers to take the train back to their original posts in Berlin and then absconds with the cash. When Voigt sees wanted posters offering a reward for the capture of the perpetrator of the Koepenick Caper, he goes to the Chief of Police, confesses and returns all the money. The police in the station all erupt in fits of laughter, offer him drinks and congratulate him for the best practical joke they have ever heard of. Voigt is now famous and even the Kaiser wants to hear his story.

Cast

Albert Bassermann Albert Bassermann (7 September 1867 – 15 May 1952) was a German stage and screen actor. He was considered to be one of the greatest German-speaking actors of his generation and received the famous Iffland-Ring. He was married to Elsa Schi ...

as shoemaker

Mary Brian Mary Brian (born Louise Byrdie Dantzler, February 17, 1906 – December 30, 2002) was an American actress who made the transition from silent films to sound films. Early life Brian was born in Corsicana, Texas, the daughter of Taurrence J. ...

as Mrs. Obermueller *

Eric Blore Eric Blore Sr. (23 December 1887 – 2 March 1959) was an English actor and writer. His early stage career, mostly in the West End of London, centred on revue and musical comedy, but also included straight plays. He wrote sketches for and appe ...

as Mayor Obermueller *

Herman Bing Herman Bing (March 30, 1889 – January 9, 1947) was a German-American character actor. He acted in more than 120 films and many of his parts were uncredited. Biography Bing was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He was son of the opera ...

as City Hall guardian Kilian *

George Chandler George Chandler (June 30, 1898 – June 10, 1985) was an American actor who starred in over 140 feature films, usually in smaller supporting roles, and he is perhaps best known for playing the character of Uncle Petrie Martin on the televi ...

as Kallenberg *

Luis Alberni Luis Alberni (October 4, 1886 – December 23, 1962) was a Spanish-born American character actor of stage and films. Early years Alberni was born in Barcelona, Spain, on October 4, 1886. He acted in stock theater for four years in Marseille ...

as prison guard *

Wallis Clark Wallis Hensman Clark (2 March 1882 – 14 February 1961) was an English stage and film actor. Biography Clark was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England, the son of William Wallis Clark (1854 - 1930), an engineer. Prior to acting, Clark was an en ...

as Friedrich Hoprecht * Else Bassermann as Mrs. Marie Hoprecht

Production

The

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

quotes ''PM's Weekly'' as citing the budget at $350,000. The ''Charleston Daily Mail'' reported that ''The Captain Of Koepenick'' is in production a second time, but although "

Oswald Oswald may refer to: People * Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name *Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters *Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbu ...

is attempting to make the film exactly as before ... now none of his German comics can open their mouths without uttering something with a political meaning. They say what they said in 1931, but their every utterance is fraught with ideals. Still,

plays a captain in uniform magnificently. John Hall is producing the picture and it better be good. Else John Hall, himself, in person, stands to lose a sizeable chunk of his money. So do Messrs. Bassermann, Oswald, et al." ... "You may never see ''The Captain Of Koepenick'', but we hope it's good enough that you will. The manufacturers compose a brave crew."

Release

In his biography of Oswald,

Kay Weniger Kay Weniger (born in Berlin in 1966) is an Austrian writer of books on media issues. He published an eight-volume encyclopaedia on international film people. Biography Weniger is the son of the German stage and film actress and the Austria ...

recalled Oswald's problems with shooting good movies in Hollywood: "Of all his films, only his barely screened ''I Was a Criminal'' (the U.S. version of his ''The Captain from Köpenick''), with an excellent performance by

in the leading role, is of any relevance. As U.S. audiences had a hard time relating to themes of Prussian militarism, subservience and lack of democracy, the film went without a distributior for many years and only premiered at the beginning of 1945". ''The Captain from Koepenick'' was screened at the Syracuse Cinefest on 14 March 2013 as ''Passport to Heaven''.

Critical reception

Jan Christopher Horak wrote: "The film is a remarkable achievement for the Director. The Berlin architecture was rendered via documentary footage and studio sets, and the camera uses movement through light and shadow to bring the symbols of power again and again into the picture: In one setting, shadows transform the omnipresent image of the emperor into a portrait of the

Führer ( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the Umlaut (diacritic), umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or "guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi Germany, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany ...

. Alas, the story of a simple shoemaker ..up against the Prussian mentality of authoritarian militarism and bureaucratic obedience, the desperation of the permitless worker rejected over and over, all these were foreign to pre-war America in 1941. ..Unlike

Max Adalbert Max Adalbert (born Johannes Adolph Krampf; 19 February 1874 – 7 September 1933) was a German stage and film actor. Biography Adalbert was born in Danzig (Gdansk), Imperial Germany as ''Maximilian Adalbert Krampf'' to a Prussian Officer. He u ...

(1931) and

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 ...

(1956) who played the shoemaker as the "little guy", ... Bassermann is angry, always rebelling and defying the powers that be, channelling his own experience as a Nazi exile: A powerful performance, making this film perhaps the most German of all exile films.“, p. 12, PDF, 158 KBy

References

External links

* * * *
I Was a Criminal
' at AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource *
I Was a Criminal
' at

filmportal.de filmportal.de is an online database of information related to German film. It includes extensive information on films and filmmakers as well as articles on film issues. The website was released on occasion of the 54th Berlin International Film Fe ...

(in german) *
Passport to Heaven
' at the

Fritz Bauer Fritz Bauer (16 July 1903 – 1 July 1968) was a German Jewish judge and prosecutor. He was instrumental in the post-war capture of former Holocaust planner Adolf Eichmann and played an essential role in beginning the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials ...

br>Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Captain From Kopenick, The (1945 film) 1940s historical comedy-drama films American historical comedy-drama films American remakes of German films American films based on plays Films based on works by Carl Zuckmayer Films directed by Richard Oswald Films about con artists Films scored by Daniele Amfitheatrof Films set in 1906 Films set in Berlin German biographical films Biographical films about fraudsters Cultural depictions of Wilhelm Voigt American black-and-white films Comedy-drama films based on actual events 1940s English-language films 1940s American films