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Denn das Weib ist schwach
West Germany 1961
produced by Leopold Brandner for Cine International, Transmare
directed by Wolfgang Glück
starring Sonja Ziemann, Helmut Schmid, Kai Fischer, Werner Peters, Hela Gerber, Kurt Pratsch-Kaufmann, Rolf Weih, Karl-Otto Alberty, Susanna Bonasewicz, Gert Kollat, Heinz G.Diesing, Irene Mann
written by Hans Nicklisch, Wolfgang Steinhardt, based on the novel Post aus Ottawa by Bruno Hampel, music by Chris Barber's Jazzband featuring Ottilie Patterson, Pat Halcox
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
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Lawyer Jolly Gebhardt (Helmut Schmid) is your typical playboy and
womanizer who never thinks further ahead than whom to shag tonight - and
thus Lissy (Kai Fischer) is his perfect girlfriend: She likes sex and
doesn't let big feelings get in the way of their relationship. Thing is
though that Jolly has financial shortcomings, and there are some gangsters
whom he owes DM 70,000 - and they want their money back badly. So Jolly
makes up a scheme to marry Hannah Schäferkamp (Sonja Ziemann), an
employee of modest income at a publishing house who is to inherit a vast
fortune, which she doesn't know yet, but Jolly does. Jolly though holds
back the information until he has conquered her heart, all the while
trying to evade his gangster dreditors the best he can. But while he still
tries to charm his way into her heart, he really falls in love with her -
much to the dismay of Lissy, who has initially helped him conquer Hannah's
heart - but who now pays Hannah a visit to tell her everything and cause a
break-up in the process. Hannah is of course devastated and doesn't
believe a word Jolly's saying anymore - but then the gangsters kidnap her
daughter (Susanna Bonasewicz), and when Jolly gives her life saving her,
Hannah knows he has truly loved her ... The basic storyline and
especially the finale of this film might seem cheesy to the point of new
return in writing, but on the moviescreen it's not that bad, as the whole
thing is saved by a flashy and glossy yet not at all superficial
directorial effort and a very cool jazz score, all of which add a certain
rhythm and pace to the story that could have been pure kitsch otherwise.
Add to this a certain erotic tension (which might not amount to much
nowadays, but remember, the film is from 1961), and you get ... well,
certainly no masterpiece, but alright entertainment nevertheless.
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