Der Gasmann
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Der Gasmann |
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Premiere: Aug 1st, 1940 in Berlin novel and film script by Heinrich Spoerl |
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| Heinz Rühmann (Gas cashier Hermann
Knittel)
Anny Ondra (his wife Erika Knittel) Will Dohm (brother-in-law Alfred) Kurt Vespermann (public prosecutor) Hans Leibelt (defender) Charlotte Susa (witness) Ewald Wenck
(policeman) Director: Carl Froehlich |
The Gas cashier Hermann Knittel returns
from a family gathering by train, when a man wants absolutely to buy his
suit. He offers 10000 RM and with a check in a pajama he arrives in the
railway station of Berlin. Nobody feels offended when he crosses the
crowds in a pajama, but does he have a real check?
He is in doubt and wants to get his suit back, errs in the huge administration building from department to department down into the secret cellar offices of the Nazi era, where no one actually (in this time!) wants to be. He risks to be treated as a criminal, when finally someone asks him what the bank thinks about the check - and when he gets there the check is cashed without any comment. Now starts the second phase - what to do with all that money? He is hiding it, then he gives a poor fellow something instead to cut his gas supply, then he carefully picks 50 marks for himself to once experience himself the luxury of the metropolitan Berlin - and finally starts a secret second life that becomes a threat to his marriage. He can settle that, but now its wife enjoys the unexpected wealth, the neighbors become suspicious and the authorities get involved again. How come a low-ranking civil servant has so much money? The grip tightens ever more - was there only some black money not declared for taxes or it the money stolen? Finally, only the mysterious buyer and former owner of the pajama can help. But he does not appear in court, but an elegant lady, who was involved in the affair and also in the origin of the problem. |
A funny move, which makes the dream of a little civil servant to be rich come true and all the fatal consequences that derive from it.
This film distinguishes from others by its connections to the Nazi period, which were strictly avoided in most other movies of this time: Rühmann errs to the Ariernachweisstelle (office for proof of Aryan descendance), a lady threatens him with her cousin "who is member of the party". And the power of the authorities is pointed out: the cellars, in which "secret" policemen cross-examine him; the eagerness of the officials, who turn every action of a citizen in good faith in a legal action against him; the distrust of the government in relation to anything enriching their subjects and their various possibilities of participating in them.
This movie merits to be better known. Behind the funny first impressions there are many little things that did not trigger much laughter of the ruling powers. In such a time this needed courage, or was it consciously meant as valve?
from Heinz Rühmann's memories:
This film is also the only one, in which he said "Heil Hitler", in the scene where the lady threatened him with the cousin who is member of the Nazi party: he answers "oh, then Heil Hitler!" That triggered such amusement in the first presentations that Rudolf Hess ordered to cut the sound and to overplay it with "he really needs that".
Source: Heinz Rühmann's autobiography "Das war's", Ullstein-Verlag 1982.