Eine alte Liebe
Encyclopedia
Eine alte Liebe is an East German black-and-white film, directed by Frank Beyer
. It was released in 1959.
. The script was adapted from Walther Reinowski's novel by the same name. It was Frank Beyer
's second film.
The West German Catholic Film Service defined the film as an "well-played film... but completely devoted to its political aim." Anke Pinkert noted that An Old Love made a subtle reference to the subjects of post-war displacement and to the bombings during World War II, that were both very controversial at the time. Joshua Feinstein cited it as one of the earliest East German pictures that had a female protagonist. Thomas Koebner wrote that the film was clearly a "vehichle of propaganda to promote the collectivization". Beyer himself told that it was "not very good."
At 1960, after the last independent farmers became members of the collectives, the film was removed from circulation.
Frank Beyer
Frank Beyer was German film director. In East Germany he was one of the most important film directors, working for the state film monopoly DEFA and directed films that dealt mostly with the Nazi era and contemporary East Germany. His film Traces of Stones was banned for 20 years in 1966 by the...
. It was released in 1959.
Plot
Frieda Walkowiak is an ambitious director of a collective farm. Although she is talented and hard-working, the men in the commune are reluctant to accept her as their supervisor. August, Frieda's husband, is exasperated by his wife's devotion to her office, which leads to her being absent from home quite often. After she misses their wedding's anniversary, August is enraged, and leaves their house with their daughter. Frieda is badly depressed and suffers a breakdown. She is taken to a hospital. August hears of this, comes back to his senses and returns. The family reunites.Cast
- Gisela May as Frieda Walkowiak
- Erich Franz as August Walkowiak
- Doris Abesses as Helga
- Ezard Haussmann as Lothar
- Peter SturmPeter SturmNot to be confused with the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control director by the same name.Josef Michel Dischel , known by his adopted stage name Peter Sturm, was an Austrian and an East German actor.-Early life:Josef Michel Dischel was born into a religious Jewish family...
as Heinrich Rantsch - Hans-Peter Minetti as Benno Schulze
- Margot Ebert as Irmgard Strömer
- Harry Gillman as Otto Funke
- Werner Lierck as Räupke
- Rudolf Ulrich as Georg
- Günther SimonGünther Simon-Early life:A bank clerk's son, Simon attended an acting school already in Gymnasium. At the age of sixteen, he was sent to a pre-military training camp of the Hitler Youth and then drafted to the Reich Labour Service. He volunteered to join the paratroopers in August 1943...
as first secretary of the party branch - J.P. Dornseif as Uhland
- Jochen Thomas as Christopher Schwannecke)
- Hans Finohr old Schwannecke)
- Peter Kalisch as Besecke
Production
The film was made in accordance with the demands set forth by the East German establishment in the Cultural Conference at October 1957 and in the 2nd Cinema Conference of July 1958. Both called on filmmakers to concentrate on the theme of collectivization in agriculture, on the background of the ongoing campaign to establish the communal farmsLandwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaft
The German expression Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaft , or — more commonly — its acronym LPG was the official designation for large, collectivised farms in the former East Germany, corresponding to Soviet Kolkhoz.The collectivisation of private and state owned agricultural...
. The script was adapted from Walther Reinowski's novel by the same name. It was Frank Beyer
Frank Beyer
Frank Beyer was German film director. In East Germany he was one of the most important film directors, working for the state film monopoly DEFA and directed films that dealt mostly with the Nazi era and contemporary East Germany. His film Traces of Stones was banned for 20 years in 1966 by the...
's second film.
Reception
PROGRESS-Film Verleih, the distributor of An Old Love, promoted the picture as "one that should be viewed in every village."The West German Catholic Film Service defined the film as an "well-played film... but completely devoted to its political aim." Anke Pinkert noted that An Old Love made a subtle reference to the subjects of post-war displacement and to the bombings during World War II, that were both very controversial at the time. Joshua Feinstein cited it as one of the earliest East German pictures that had a female protagonist. Thomas Koebner wrote that the film was clearly a "vehichle of propaganda to promote the collectivization". Beyer himself told that it was "not very good."
At 1960, after the last independent farmers became members of the collectives, the film was removed from circulation.
External links
- Eine alte Liebe on filmportal.de.
- Eine alte Liebe on PROGRESS' site.