The Punch Bowl

Even though filmed as the second world war came to a close my home country managed to sedate people not on the front yet with this humorous masterpiece that is still astonishing 56 years after its release. if it wasn`t for the nazis, this movie with Heinz Rühmann in his genuine role would have been celebrated world wide right away. it has all the wit of the 'good side' of German culture and somehow manages to leave out anything 'political' by a far cry. just a plain great amusing movie that features infantile friendship and adventure and all the fun of being young while never getting rid of the stains of being a movie people were meant to view to forget the crazy war out there.

This delightful film adapted from his own novel by Heinrich Spoerl and directed by the very capable Helmut Weiss ran into all sorts of trouble with the education authorities who strongly objected to its depiction of bumbling old schoolmasters and disrespectful, disruptive pupils who brought classes to the brink of near anarchy.

Its star Heinz Ruemann was chummy with Hitler, whether from choice or expediency we will never know and Hitler certainly admired Ruemann's acting. It was apparently only by his appealing personally to Adolf during a visit to the Wolf's Lair that the film was permitted to be shown. Probably as a sop to the powers that be the makers were obliged to introduce a character not in the original book named Brett, played by Lutz Goetz, a young history teacher who expounds upon the virtues of discipline and says that he gives his pupils a clear choice between peace or war. All this is said while maintaining a smile!

What of the cast? Ruemann is an impeccable, immaculate artiste and excels as Pfeiffer. Erich Ponto as Professor Crey again manages to steal most of his scenes although Ruemann gives him a run for his money. There are also fine performances by Hans Liebelt as the harassed headmaster and by Hilde Sessak and Karen Himboldt as the women in Pfeiffer's life. Himboldt refused to give the Nazi salute at the premiere and this courageous act of defiance effectively scuppered her career.

This is a heartwarming, uplifting and beautifully realised piece and one is not at all surprised to learn that it remains to this day a cult film in Germany.

Germany was losing the war, its cities were being bombed to smithereens, so it's easy to see why Goebbels felt the need for quality escapist entertainment like this gentle, funny school comedy.

Heinz Ruhmann plays a successful writer who was educated by tutors and never attended school, and who decides to return to his hometown disguised as a pupil to find out what he missed. What ensues is a lot of sweet-natured tomfoolery, with lots of tricks played on the teachers - something which nearly got the film banned because of its supposedly 'anti-authoritarian' tendencies.

There's no real message except that 'schooldays are the best days of your lives', and perhaps that's its secret - for it remains among the most popular of all film comedies in Germany and is cult viewing around Christmas time. Ruhmann is in his element in this film, but particular mention should go to the wonderful Erich Ponto as the eccentric chemistry teacher, who is quite best thing in the film.

Ok, so I know this film was designed to distract German audiences from the impending defeat in WWII - escapist propaganda kitsch, no less, as Göring realised at an early screening in Hitler's headquarters. And I know that Heinz Rühmann (who plays the lead role) was a slimy opportunist who led a cushy life under the Nazis. Decent German actors left the country once Hitler took over in 1933 (Marlene Dietrich did, for example, which is why people spat at her in the streets when she returned to post-war Germany). But what the hell, this film works. It works at all levels. The comic timing - Rühmann's as well as that of the other actors - is impeccable; the acting in general is very good, the plot moves quickly, and the gags follow each other nicely. Moreover, there is a sentimental undercurrent, which I can't remember having noticed in contemporary British or American comedies but which goes down very well in Germany. It does so to this day: 'Die Feuerzangenbowle' is a cult movie, especially among students. In short, it is a very good film, up there with the three or four best German comedies ever. Recommended viewing!

Die Feuerzangenbowle is based on the familiar and often-filmed story idea of pupils playing various tricks and jokes on their teachers. An easy excuse for an avalanche of slapstick one might think and indeed we get our fair share.

The twist in the story is the leader of the pack, the major cause of the teachers' headaches: Johannes Pfeiffer. He is not a real pupil at all, instead a successful playwright with a PhD. One evening at the pub his friends discover that he never went to a school but was educated privately. Their stories of their boyhood years (and a bit too much alcohol) persuade him to see for himself and 'be a boy again'.

Die Feuerzangenbowle is the second film version of Heinrich Spoerl's novel. Heinz Rühmann played the lead in both films, which is somewhat surprising as they have been made ten years apart. Therefore he is a bit too old for his role now but still manages to pull it off quite convincingly.

The film was made in 1944, so it is a bit astonishing that the Nazi censors were prepared to pass a film with such an anti-authoritarian message. To keep them happy, Spoerl created one character, the teacher Brett, who displays authority and firmness and whom the pupils blindingly obey -- the sort of person you can easily imagine being in charge of an SS regiment. Still, Spoerl uses this very character to deliver a political message: when the teachers discuss how to get hold of the culprit of the most recent outrageous trick, one suggests that "there is always a 'friend' willing to talk", a clear reference to the wide-spread culture of denunciation in Nazi Germany. Brett replies "I hope we don't have any friends like this in our school."

Die Feuerzangenbowle is very well made and today enjoys a cult status in Germany (the 1944 version that is). However, most of the humour would not travel well at all, especially the clever use of accents and dialects is virtually untranslatable; a non-native speaker -- even somebody with a fair knowledge of German -- would miss most of it when watching the original.