
If you thought the Goethe-Institut Toronto, founded 55 years ago, was the first place to show German films in Toronto, think again. The Revue Cinema, opened in 1912 on Roncesvalles Avenue in Toronto's West End and now a second-run and arthouse theatre saved from the wrecking ball by a circle of film aficionados, used to host the large German community that immigrated to Canada after World War II.
Reason enough for the Goethe-Institut and the Revue to celebrate that enduring cinematic heritage with three rarely seen German classics on 35mm in the upcoming screening weekend Déjà Revue: German films of the 1950s.
In preparation, a look behind the scenes -or quite literally
the screen- of the Revue reveals the theatre's rich archive including gems like 1919 silent films as well as a handful of
hand-painted posters announcing the mix of post-war German escapist comedies and serious literary adaptation on offer in the early days:

Germany 1956. By Helmut Käutner, based on the 1931 play by
Carl Zuckmayer, who also wrote THE BLUE ANGEL. THE CAPTAIN (
famous speech here) was one of three Zuckmayer adaptations Käutner did in the 1950s, this one starring well-known actors Heinz Rühmann, Martin Held, and Hannelore Schroth.
The tragi-comedy is based on the true story of Wilhelm Voigt, a German impostor who dressed up as a Prussian military officer in 1906 and held the mayor of Berlin-Köpenick for ransom. Since the original locations in the eastern part of Berlin were inaccessible, the film was made in Hamburg.
The play and the film (as well as Richard Oswald's much-lauded 1931 film version and Käutner's 1945 radio drama) are largely seen as ridiculing the absurdities of bureaucracy and people's blind belief in state institutions. Two years prior,
Käutner had won the Prix International at Cannes for his anti-war film THE LAST BRIDGE.
The choice of Rühmann as the lead was controversial because the actor had played in many Nazi comedies. Stars Curd Jürgens (THE SPY WHO LOVED ME) as well as Hans Albers (THE BLUE ANGEL) were being discussed instead, but Rühmann would enter German film history with this role.
10 million people saw the film in its first five months, and it was eventually shown in 53 countries. This was such a success, the first in post-war Germany, that the film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.
"Take a very close look at Rühmann, and not for one second will you think of him as Quax (in the 1941 war propaganda comedy of the same name) but of Grock, of Chaplin, of Charlie Rivel.“ commented Die Welt when the film came out.
In 2017, look out for Robert Schwentke's upcoming THE CAPTAIN, which relocates the misappropriation of a uniform to dupe authorities and to survive to the last days of the Second World War.
Continue reading "Déjà Revue: German films of the 1950s" »