Doctor Ahrendt's Decision

Last updated
Die Entscheidung des Dr. Ahrendt
Directed byFrank Vogel
Written byHasso Grabner
Produced byWerner Dau
Starring Johannes Arpe
CinematographyWalter Fehdmer
Edited byFriedel Welsandt
Music by Gerhard Wohlgemuth
Production
company
Distributed by Progress Film
Release date
  • 9 June 1960 (1960-06-09)
Running time
81 minutes
Country East Germany
Language German

Dr. Ahrendt's Decision (German : Die Entscheidung des Dr. Ahrendt) [1] is an East German black-and-white film, directed by Frank Vogel. It was released in 1960.

Contents

Plot

Dr. Ahrendt has developed a new type of iron smelter. When his invention fails to produce the required results, he begins to doubt himself, and is even considered as a liar by some. However, the workers in the factory are determined to achieve the goals set forth, and together with the scientist they manage to prove that the machine can be used as planned.

Cast

Production

The film was one of the so-called "mission films", commissioned in great number by the East German government during the late 1950s and the early 1960s, that were intended to promote distinct political aims. [2] Dr. Ahrendt's Decision was meant to set an ideal model for behavior and attitude for the industrial workers. [3]

Reception

Heinz Kersten wrote that the film resembled Socialist Realist pictures, and was intended to promote the economical aspirations of East Germany, by motivating the populace to work harder. [4]

Marianne Lange noted that Dr. Ahrendt's Decision portrayed the transformation of simple workers to ambitious, skilled labor. [5] The West German film service regarded it as "boring propaganda". [6]

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References

  1. ↑ Die Entscheidung des Dr. Ahrendt on DEFA Foundation's website.
  2. ↑ Joshua Feinstein. The Triumph of the Ordinary: Depictions of Daily Life in the East German Cinema, 1949–1989. ISBN   978-0-8078-5385-6. Page 273.
  3. ↑ Ralf Schenk. Das zweite Leben der Filmstadt Babelsberg. DEFA- Spielfilme 1946–1992. ISBN   978-3-89487-175-8. Page 143.
  4. ↑ Heinz Kersten. Das Filmwesen in der Sowjetischen Besatzungszone Deutschlands. Bundesministerium für Gesamtdeutsche Fragen (1963). ASIN B0000BK48Q. page 115.
  5. ↑ Marianne Lange. Arbeiterklasse und Kultur: Autorenkollektiv unter Leitung. Dietz (1969). ISBN   978-3-486-52721-6. Page 255.
  6. ↑ Die Entscheidung des Dr. Ahrendt on Zweitausendundeins.de.
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