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The Captain from Köpenick (1956 film)

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The Captain from Köpenick
Der Hauptmann von Köpenick
Theatrical release poster by Tom Jung
Directed byHelmut Käutner
Written byHelmut Käutner
Carl Zuckmayer
Based onThe Captain of Köpenick by Carl Zuckmayer
Produced byGyula Trebitsch
StarringHeinz Rühmann
Hannelore Schroth
Martin Held
Erich Schellow
CinematographyAlbert Benitz
Edited byKlaus Dudenhöfer
Music byBernhard Eichhorn
Production
company
Distributed byReal Film
Distributors Corporation of America (US)
Release date
  • 16 August 1956 (1956-08-16)
Ufa-Palast Cologne
Running time
93 minutes
CountryWest Germany
LanguageGerman
Box office5.6 million DM [1]

The Captain from Köpenick (German: Der Hauptmann von Köpenick) is a 1956 West German comedy film directed by Helmut Käutner and based upon the 1931 play The Captain of Köpenick by Carl Zuckmayer. The play was based on the true story of Wilhelm Voigt, a German impostor who masqueraded as a Prussian military officer in 1906 and became famous as the Captain from Köpenick. It was nominated for the 29th Academy Awards in the category Best Foreign Language Film.

It was shot by Real Film at the Wandsbek Studios in Hamburg. The film's sets were designed by the art director Albrecht Becker and Herbert Kirchhoff.

Plot

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A young mechanic is jailed for the forgery of low-value postal orders and is sentenced to 15 years. Upon release, after successfully working abroad, he returns to Germany due to homesickness. However, he receives a further sentence of 10 years for forging false identity documentation in an attempt to escape his past. Now, without a job, he cannot obtain a residence permit, and without a residence permit, he cannot secure a job. He tries to obtain a passport to go abroad again but is deemed too disreputable. Imprisoned for a third time, this time for 12 years, for breaking into a police station to forge a passport, he learns military drill. Eventually freed, he is issued with an expulsion order from the district.

By chance, he sees an officer's uniform at a street stall and buys it. The film also covers the previous history of the uniform. He commandeers a handful of soldiers en route to their barracks and returns to his home district, arresting the mayor and demanding a passport. Learning that such documents are only issued by higher-level offices, he confiscates the town treasury and leaves.

He hands himself in to the police in exchange for the promise of a passport but becomes celebrated for his bravado and is granted a pardon by the Kaiser and a passport.

Cast

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Awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Germany's Top Grossers (Since World War Two)". Variety. 9 April 1958. p. 62.
  2. ^ "The 29th Academy Awards (1957) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
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