| Anna Susanna | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Richard Nicolas |
| Written by | Richard Nicolas |
| Produced by | Adolf Hannemann |
| Starring | Günther Simon |
| Cinematography | Emil Schünemann, Wolf Göthe |
| Edited by | Lieselotte Johl |
| Music by | Horst Hanns Sieber |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Progress Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | East Germany |
| Language | German |
Anna Susanna is an East German drama film directed by Richard Nicolas. It was released in 1953.
During the Great Depression, a rich businessman named Brinkmann decides to sink his ship, Anna Susanna, in order to collect on the insurance. He orders its captain, Kleiers, to sabotage it while at sea. When Kleiers carries out his instructions, he is spotted by several sailors and passengers. The captain is killed in the ensuing fight, but not before he manages to shipwreck Anna Susanna. Only a handful of people survive. After they return home, they discover that Brinkmann's insurance fraud worked and he was compensated. They sue him at court and manage to have him indicted.
During 1952, as the government control over DEFA tightened, the studio produced only six films, all of them influenced by the Cold War and dedicated to the ideological struggle between capitalism and socialism. Anna Susanna was one of those. [1] Although the film had a plot suiting the government's policy, the DEFA Board was very reluctant to allow Richard Nicolas, for whom the picture was his debut as a director, to make Anna Susanna. Nicolas had threatened to resign if he would not be allowed to direct it, and was eventually granted permission. [2] The film was also noted for being one of the first DEFA pictures to employ primitive special effects, such as building a miniature ship model that was wrecked in an aquarium. [3]
Heinz Kersten quoted an East German official who told that "the times in which pictures like Anna Susanna, that damaged the image of DEFA in the eyes of the people... should not return." [4] The West German Catholic Film Service described it as "rather well-developed, thrilling crime film... but filled with typical criticism of the capitalist system." [5]
Rolf Dieter Brinkmann was a German writer of poems, short stories, a novel, essays, letters, and diaries.
Günther Simon was an East German actor.
Werner Peters was a German film actor. He appeared in 102 films between 1947 and 1971.
The Handel Prize is an annual award, instituted in 1956, which is presented by the city of Halle, in Germany, in honour of the celebrated Baroque composer George Frideric Handel. It is awarded, "for exceptional artistic, academic or politico-cultural services as far as these are connected with the city of Halle's Handel commemoration". The prize consists of a diploma, a gold and enamel badge, and is presented during the annual Handel Festival, Halle.
Familie Benthin is an East German film. It was released in 1950.
The Condemned Village is a 1952 East German propaganda film directed by Martin Hellberg.The film is about a man who returns from a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp to his home village in occupied West Germany and leads a resistance to the American military's plans to demolish the village to build an airfield. The film was commissioned to build East German opposition to the United States and support for the Soviet Union during the early Cold War.
Jacke wie Hose is an East German comedy film, directed by Eduard Kubat. It was released in 1953.
Alter Kahn und junge Liebe is an East German romance film directed by Hans Heinrich. It was released in 1957.
The Sailor's Song is an East German black-and-white film directed by Kurt Maetzig and Günter Reisch. It was released in 1958.
Before the Lightning Strikes is an East German comedy film directed by Richard Groschopp. It was released in 1959.
Im Sonderauftrag is an East German black-and-white film directed by Heinz Thiel. It was released in 1959.
SAS 181 antwortet nicht is an East German black-and-white film, directed by Carl Balhaus. It was released in 1959.
Love's Confusion is an East German romantic comedy film directed by Slátan Dudow. It was released in 1959.
Dr. Ahrendt's Decision is an East German black-and-white film, directed by Frank Vogel. It was released in 1960.
Kein Ärger mit Cleopatra is an East German comedy film, directed by Helmut Schneider. It was released in 1960.
September Love is an East German film directed by Kurt Maetzig. It was released in 1961.
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a 1950 East German musical comedy film directed by Georg Wildhagen. It was based on William Shakespeare's play by the same name.
From 1959 to 1989, the city of Leipzig awarded the Kunstpreis der Stadt Leipzig, which was given for outstanding merits in the artistic field to persons who promoted the reputation of the city beyond the region: architects, visual artists, composers, musicians, singers, actors and writers as well as literary and art critics.
Helga Krause was a German film editor.
