EINE TOLLE NACHT 100 YEARS

EINE TOLLE NACHT 100 YEARS BIRTHDAY

Year : 1927

Length: 1.39′ b/w, restored version

-Director: RICHARD OSWALD

Writers: Richard Oswald, Paul Morgan / Julius Freund (play), Wilhelm Mannstaedt (play)

Cinematography: Otto Kanturek, Edgar S. Ziesemer

With : Harry Bender (Florian Pieper, Insektenpulverfabrikant aus Essig an der Gurke), Ossi Oswalda (Margot Olschinsky, Varieté-Tänzerin), Harry Liedtke (Odoardo Bonaventura, Varieté-Künstler), Ferdinand Bonn (Ruhesanft, Küster), Paul Graetz (Pille, Apotheker), Kurt Gerron (Wachmeister Lehmkuhl)

-Music : FRIDO TER BEEK

-Performed by : FILM ORCHESTRA THE SPROCKETS

Daphne Balvers (sopran- und alto saxophone) Frido ter Beek (tenor saxophone) Marco Ludemann (Banjo / Jazz guitar / mandolin) Peter Keijsers (trombone / sousaphone) Jasper Somsen (double bass) Rombout Stoffers (percussion, bells / xylophone / accordeon / songs) Maud Nelissen (piano)

World premiere at UFA filmnights 2019, TV premiere on ARTE (26.08.2019)

THE FILM

EINE TOLLE NACHT is a vibrant comedy about a businessman from the county, Florian Pieper (Harry Bender), who is supposed to compete in a show wrestling match in the Berlin nightclub ‘Scala’. His sports club of the provincial town has chosen him for this. Until the victory over the strong opponent on stage, the slick Mr. Pieper has to go through many adventures. His real interest is the variety dancer Margot (Ossi Oswalda), who is engaged to the jealous artist Edouardo Bonaventura (Harry Liedtke) and who performs at the ‘Scala’, too. Florian’s wife has also secretly made her way to Berlin to visit her brother – Eduardo! As expected, this constellation leads to the craziest entanglements which finally lead Florian to the police station where he meets Wachmeister Lehmkuhl (Kurt Gerron) who is looking forward to fatherhood. Florian is released from prison after Lehmkuhl has become father of quadruplets. When the club closes in the early morning, all couples are happily reunited – after a great night at the ‘Scala’.

Berlin

The film was based on the stage play of the same name by Wilhelm Mannstädt and Julius Freund which was written in 1895 for the Central-Theater in Berlin: a classic comedy whose secret star is Berlin itself. The settings of the theatre version were adopted almost unchanged. The streets of Berlin, the circus which becomes a variety show in the film version, a restaurant with small, intimate rooms and the police station where Pieper spends a considerable part of the ‘great night’. Richard Oswald’s adaptation passed the censorship on December 23rd 1926 and was shown for the first time the following year, on January 21st in Berlin’s cinema ‚Alhambra‘. The intertitles were written by the Austrian actor and comedian Paul Morgan.

THE MUSIC

The new score by Frido ter Beek for EINE TOLLE NACHT takes us right into the heart of Berlin’s music scene of the 1920s and pays also homage to the German composer Fred Raymond (1900-1954). Raymond was very popular in his time, he wrote evergreens such as ‘At a small pastry shop’ or ‚My brother makes the sound effects in the talkies‘. Together with Austin Egen (1987-1941) he wrote the music piece ‘Eine Tolle Nacht’ which was played as a musical interlude to the film. The new film music takes up the verve and irony of this piece – and the style of Fred Raymond in general – and presents wonderful songs like ‘Thank God I’m single’ (1927) or ‘It doesn’t have to be lobster with mayonnaise’ (1930)’, which still inspire with their wit and humour today. With Frido ter Beek’s new music the film comedy really takes off and leaves the agony of choice who does the better performance: the virtuoso SPROCKETS with their strong wind section and finely chiselled solo instruments – or the film which had disappeared for a long time (until a print was re-discovered in Moscow) and brings back a piece of authentic Berlin entertainment culture.

BIOGRAPHIES

RICHARD OSWALD, DIRECTOR (*1880, Vienna, +1963, Düsseldorf)

Richard Oswald was born into a Jewish family in Vienna, but Berlin was the town of his great career as film director, producer and owner of a chain of cinemas. He started his professional career as an actor, 1914 he shot his first movie and in 1916 he founded his own production company, the “Richard Oswald-Film GmbH”. Oswald is regarded as the founder of the so-called sex education films. In his works he often treated taboo subjects like homosexuality, abortion or venereal diseases. Many of these films were heavily censored. From 1926 he worked for Nero-Film which he founded together with Heinrich Nebenzahl. Besides light films (‘Im weißen Rössl’, 1926) and adaptations of literature classics (‘Der Hund von Baskerville’, ‘Frühlings Erwachen’, both 1929) he also took up politically explosive subjects with ‘Feme’ (1927), a movie about the assassination of Walter Rathenau. In 1930 he directed his first sound film ‘Wien, du Stadt der Lieder’. With the beginning of the Nazi regime Richard Oswald fled to Paris in 1933 and later emigrated to the USA with his wife. He shot three movies there but he wasn’t able to go on from his earlier successes. During a visit in Germany Oswald fell ill and died on September 11th 1963 in Düsseldorf.

FRIDO TER BEEK : COMPOSITION & ARRANGEMENTS

Frido ter Beek, saxophonist and composer, comes from the Netherlands and has lived in Buenos Aires since 2015. He studied classical saxophone at the Utrecht Conservatory and then jazz with Ferdinand Povel at the Hilversum Conservatory. He founded his own jazz quartet in Buenos Aires and teaches in Avellaneda (Argentina) and Montevideo (Uruguay). He regularly comes to the Netherlands and works with his regular ensembles, the Koh-I-Noor Saxophone Quartet and THE SPROCKETS. He also plays with top-class artists, theatre groups and orchestras such as the Clazz Ensemble, Dutch Jazz Orchestra or Simply Jazz. Frido ter Beek has written numerous pieces for jazz ensembles and film scores, among others for a film by Louis Gasteren, for Murnau’s last film ‘Tabu’ and for his regular ensemble THE SPROCKETS.

FILM ORCHESTRA THE SPROCKETS

At the beginning of the last century every self-respecting cinema had its own (small) orchestra to accompany the movie(s) shown and to provide musical intermission. These ensembles were assembled by pianist or organist who also acted as the ensembles leader. These musicians were held in high regard as they were first-class musicians, accomplished in several instruments with expert improvisational skills. Maud Nelissen has assembled 7 outstanding musicians around her out of her respect for this musical tradition. These seven musicians form The Sprockets. The music they perform is composed and arranged by two composers: Frido ter Beek & Maud Nelissen for specific movies and shows. Frido or Maud, each in their own style, anticipate every situation and every character on the screen with a fitting or contrasting sound whereby the expressiveness or eloquence of the scene is underscored. The Sprockets have touched the public through their enthusiasm and virtuoso performances in past seasons. Their performances are celebrations for young and old alike!