Die wilden Fünfziger

Extremely nauseating film, probably set up as a satire on Das Wirtschaftswunder (German economic miracle of the fifties), but if based on a novel by Simmel, what is one to expect?. It gets stuck in an orgy of bad jokes and lots of naked (but attractive) women who are there just for show; furthermore, everything is wrong here: acting, directing, scripting, editing etc. How could ever an actress like Eva Mattes become involved; was she forced? One is not always expected to like a film, but must it be that bad?

The makers had the nerve to dedicate this film to Rainer Werner Fassbinder, who died not long before this film was made (and who made his own superb Audenauer Trilogy, dealing with the same subject). How low can you get?

The film is very preoccupied with the "Chinese sleigh ride" (for those who do not know what that is: sorry, I can not explain here), and I recommend to do that rather than to watch this awful rubbish.

A down-to-earth, realistic description of the 50s like they really were. I was in the army in Germany in the early 60s and a lot of this atmosphere was still present.

Honest, simple movies like this one, with an easy-to-follow theme, are a thing of the past now, with directors packing too much trash into too little time, resulting in hectics with essentially no real message.

And what a collection of stars! A brilliant Freddy Quinn, Brigitta Mira etc. etc., a beautiful Bea Fidler (as always)... I've seen the film several times and am always ready to enjoy it again, tons of erotics but not so much as to burden the film with too much sexuality. A great time warp back to a wonderful era in Germany!