Dorothea, La fille du pasteur

In the fourth part of brilliant Robert Siodmak's distinguished career ,"Dorothea Angermann" ,although based on a work by the same writer as the highly superior "Die Ratten" ,is a poor man's melodrama.The viewer feels sorry for Ruth Leuwerick who was a wonderful "Sisi" before Romy Schneider .The screenplay is hackneyed,as old as the hills and there is nothing to grab for the fans of of the genre (and I am part of them).Coming after the stunning overlooked "Nachts,Wenn Der Teufel Kam" ,this story of a minister's daughter ,pregnant by a brute who leads a wild life with his friends and who affords orgies all day and night , who has got to renege on her true love ,has been filmed a hundred times and more !Only Siodmak's completists need to get this,among all his other great movies around.

The actress Ruth LEUWERIK (1924-2016) was one of the biggest film stars of West German cinema in the 1950s. In 1959, under the direction of ACADEMY AWARD nominee Robert SIODMAK (nominated in 1947 for THE KILLERS and 1958 for NACHTS, WENN DER TEUFEL KAM), she played a character based on a model by Nobel Prize winner Gerhart HAUPTMANN (1862-1946).

The young Dorothea suffers greatly from the strict upbringing of her father (Alfred SCHIESKE), who is very respected as a Protestant pastor. She is very fortunate to get to know other people through her training as a housekeeper. Unfortunately, she comes across a nasty chef (Kurt MEISEL), who shamelessly exploits the inexperienced woman. After a misstep, she finds herself pregnant and is forced into marriage by her God-fearing father. Then a fatal incident occurs...

When Gerhart HAUPTMANN premiered his play in Vienna in 1926 (where ACADEMY AWARD nominee Oskar HOMOLKA (nominated for SECRET OF THE MOTHER in 1949) played the evil chef), his contemporaries viewed it as somewhat old-fashioned and outdated in terms of the figure drawing. The figure of the priest's father already refers to the modern classic THE WHITE RIBBON (2009) by ACADEMY AWARD winner Michael HANEKE, in which EUROPEAN FILM AWARD nominee Burghart KLAUSSNER plays a very similar character. The play by HAUPTMANN and the later film by SIODMAK certainly should have been a little harder and crueler to make the story told more believable. Ruth LEUWERIK, who has been the undisputed heartthrob of the German-speaking world since her mega success with The TRAPP FAMILY (in 1956 the film attracted more than 26 million people to West German cinemas!!!), also played too cautiously in order to be the real one to make the drama of the story clear. A discovery is the Yugoslavian actor Bert SOTLAR (1921-1992), who, as a charming gentleman, promises to be a lifeline for the long-suffering Dorothea.

Despite dramaturgical weaknesses, it's a classic from the West German film industry that's worth seeing! Not only recommended for fans of the great Ruth LEUWERIK!

A creaky old melodrama of a young woman accused of accidental killing, 'Dorothea Angermann' was DOA. Based on an ancient and trite stage-shocker, that was old, when Bismarck was a young lad, the story is told in such an uninspired way that even Miss Leuwerik's most ardent fans will have a rough time to watch it to the end. The pic seems to last forever and has virtually no saving grace. Even Ruth Leuwerik, normally a talented actress of great warmth and natural beauty is defeated by the shrill and illogical plot.

The pic turned out to be a horrible box-office dud and hastened Miss Leuwerik's demise as a star.

If you want to see good entertainment, watch out for the similar story in 'The Kiss', Garbo's last silent and far superior to this trashy and shoddy melodrama. Or rent yourself 'The Accused', with lovely Loretta Young giving one of her best performances ever.

The two earlier reviewers are of course entitled to their opinions but I feel that they have been unduly harsh in their criticism of this opus. It is certainly not a classic, indeed that epithet could hardly be applied to any of the films made by Robert Siodmak during his late German period but it still has a great deal to recommend it.

This is the second time Siodmak has directed an adaptation of a Gerhard Hauptmann play and has utilised the stylistic devices of his earlier Film Noirs and his renowned gift with actors to give us a compelling, psychologically penetrating piece of film-making.

He is again working with cinematographer Georg Krause(best known for 'Paths of Glory') whose work on Siodmak's earlier 'Nachts wenn der Teufel kam' made him an obvious choice. His high contrast lighting and camera angles are ideal for this subject matter.

The highly talented Ruth Leuwerik, fresh from her triumph as Maria von Trapp, exudes an aura of vulnerability and evinces our sympathy as the title character and is supported by the excellent Kurt Meisel as her beastly husband, Alfred Schieske as her uncompromising father and Alfred Balthoff as a seemingly ineffectual little man who comes to Dorothea's rescue. The final, fatal confrontation between Leuwerik and Meisel is brilliantly shot and edited.

Granted, the plot is well-worn and predictable but for this viewer at any rate, has been transcended by Siodmak's mastery of his medium.

Mine is only the third review and will have served its purpose if it redresses the balance somewhat.