Berlin – Ecke Schönhauser…
Encyclopedia
Berlin, Schoenhauser Corner (German: Berlin – Ecke Schönhauser…) is an East German crime film
directed by Gerhard Klein. It was released in 1957.
who prowl Schönhauser Allee, in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg
. The four, each with his troubled life, are often in trouble with the police. Karl-Heinz steals an identity document and uses it to enter West Berlin
, where he murders a man while committing armed robbery. The police suspects that his friends assisted him. When he returns, Kohle and Dieter try to find out what he had done; He threatens them both with a pistol, and Kohle knocks him unconscious. Dieter and he believe they have killed Karl-Heinz, and flee to West Berlin, from where they plan to get to the Federal Republic of Germany. Dieter regrets their escape. He pretends to be sick, so Kohle would leave without him. He drinks a solution of coffee and tobacco to feign illness. On the next day, he discovers "Kohle" dead, after he consumed the remains of the beverage. Dieter returns home, where Angela awaits his child, and explains the situation to the police. He is released, while Karl-Heinz is imprisoned.
But when it was presented to the Central Committee of the Free German Youth
, Hans Modrow
praised Klein's work and declared that it would be beneficial for the populace. The film was approved for release.
Mira and Antonin Liehm wrote that, while still attacking "West Berlin with the same propagandistic undertone of all DEFA films", it also "took into account the shady aspects of life in the East". Dagmar Schittly noted that the film acknowledged the East German youth's wish to emulate the life in the West, at least partially: on one occasion, Angela states that her model of the ideal man figure is Marlon Brando
.
At 1995, Berlin – Ecke Schönhauser… was selected as one of the 100 most important German films in history.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
directed by Gerhard Klein. It was released in 1957.
Plot summary
Dieter, Angela, Kohle and Karl-Heinz are a group of delinquent youthsHalbstarke
Halbstarke is a term describing a postwar-period subculture of adolescents – mostly male and of working class parents – that appeared in public in an aggressive and provocative way during the 1950s in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Later, the term sometimes described youths in general...
who prowl Schönhauser Allee, in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg is a locality of Berlin, in the borough of Pankow.Until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a borough of Berlin; in that year it was included in the borough of Pankow....
. The four, each with his troubled life, are often in trouble with the police. Karl-Heinz steals an identity document and uses it to enter West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
, where he murders a man while committing armed robbery. The police suspects that his friends assisted him. When he returns, Kohle and Dieter try to find out what he had done; He threatens them both with a pistol, and Kohle knocks him unconscious. Dieter and he believe they have killed Karl-Heinz, and flee to West Berlin, from where they plan to get to the Federal Republic of Germany. Dieter regrets their escape. He pretends to be sick, so Kohle would leave without him. He drinks a solution of coffee and tobacco to feign illness. On the next day, he discovers "Kohle" dead, after he consumed the remains of the beverage. Dieter returns home, where Angela awaits his child, and explains the situation to the police. He is released, while Karl-Heinz is imprisoned.
Cast
- Ekkehard SchallEkkehard SchallEkkehard Schall was a German stage and screen actor/director.He was one of the best profiled actors of Brecht's works and together with Helene Weigel a member of the Berliner Ensemble....
as Dieter - Ilse Pagé as Angela
- Ernst-Georg Schwill as Kohle
- Harry Engel as Karl-Heinz Erdmann
- Raimund Schelcher as Police commissioner
- Helga Göring as Angela's mother
- Erika Dunkelmann as Kohle's mother
- Maximilian Larsen as Kohle's stepfather
- Ingeborg Beeske as Karl-Heinz's mother
- Siegfried WeißSiegfried Weiß (actor)-Biography:Weiss made his artistic debut on the stage of the Halberstadt Theater, at 1924. He continued his career in the theaters of Luebeck, Koenigsberg, Magdeburg, Leipzig and Berlin, where he acted in the Berlin Ensemble, among others....
as Karl-Heinz's father - Manfred Borges as Dieter's brother
- Hartmut Reck as member of the Free German YouthFree German YouthThe Free German Youth, also known as the FDJ , was the official socialist youth movement of the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany....
- Gerd Michael HennebergGerd Michael HennebergGerd Michael Henneberg was a German actor and theater director.-Biography:Gerd Henneberg's father, Richard, was a theater director. After the young Heeneberg took private acting classes, he made his debut on stage at the age of sixteen, in the Leipzig Theater...
as American man
Production
The screenplay of Berlin – Ecke Schönhauser… was written in summer 1956 - during the early months of the Khruschev Thaw - and severely criticized by officials in the Ministry of Culture's Cinema Directorate upon its completion. It was seen by the authorities as portraying only the negative side of the life in the country. Director Klein did not receive an approval to begin filming, but did so anyhow, starting at October. When Klein held a screening of Ecke Schönhauser in the Ministry of Culture, the officials present strongly disapproved of it, and intended to ban it.But when it was presented to the Central Committee of the Free German Youth
Free German Youth
The Free German Youth, also known as the FDJ , was the official socialist youth movement of the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany....
, Hans Modrow
Hans Modrow
Hans Modrow is a German politician, best known as the last communist premier of East Germany. He currently is the honorary Chairman of the Left Party....
praised Klein's work and declared that it would be beneficial for the populace. The film was approved for release.
Reception
The film was viewed by 1.5 million watchers in the first twelve weeks after its premiere.Mira and Antonin Liehm wrote that, while still attacking "West Berlin with the same propagandistic undertone of all DEFA films", it also "took into account the shady aspects of life in the East". Dagmar Schittly noted that the film acknowledged the East German youth's wish to emulate the life in the West, at least partially: on one occasion, Angela states that her model of the ideal man figure is Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
.
At 1995, Berlin – Ecke Schönhauser… was selected as one of the 100 most important German films in history.