Tran and Helle (german: Tran und Helle) were a
comedy duo
A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...
of the
Third Reich
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 ...
era, played by
Ludwig Schmitz
Ludwig Schmitz (January 28, 1884 – June 28, 1954) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than forty films during his career including the 1951 comedy '' The Heath Is Green''. He was part of the popular comedy duo Tran and Helle along with ...
(Tran) (1884–1954) and
Joseph "Jupp" Hussels (Helle) (1901–1984).
History
From September 1939 the pair appeared in a number of weekly 2–3 minute short films, which usually accompanied ''
Die Deutsche Wochenschau
''Die Deutsche Wochenschau'' (''The German Weekly Review'') was the title of the unified newsreel series released in the cinemas of Nazi Germany from June 1940 until the end of World War II. The coordinated newsreel production was set up as a vi ...
'' newsreels or feature films screened in cinema.
Tran was a bald, conniving and dim-witted character whose frequent transgressions would run counter to the German war effort or security. In different episodes Tran would listen to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
activities. His friend Helle—taller, handsome and appearing to be more considered in judgement—served as the
er the error of his ways. While Jews were portrayed as untrustworthy, the series lacked the heavy-handed
found in other German film productions of the Nazi era.
Tran and Helle's shorts were discontinued in the fall of 1940, possibly due to the authorities becoming concerned that audiences could sympathise with the wrong-footed but essentially human Tran, who would on occasions utter ideas contrary to the
regime. Schmitz was a member of the SS from 1 March 1934 and a member of the Nazi Party from May 1937, however he was barred from the German film industry from 1941 "due to unworthy behavior". It was only in the 1950s that the popular comedian was seen again in the West German cinema. He died of a heart attack in 1954.