Castles and Cottages

Castles and Cottages

203 mins | Drama | Feb. 9, 1957

Lifelong hard work for the count makes the servant Anton a cripple. Everybody calls him Crooked Anton. When, after the end of the war, the land of the count gets divided amongst the farmers, Anton receives a piece and hopes to be able to work freely. But an old debt and intrigue keep Anton and his family from finding peace. The farmers of the village begin to discover their own power when Annegret, Anton's daughter, leaves. Is a new beginning possible for Anton? This film paints an impressive panorama of the development of a minor village in Mecklenburg from the end of the war to the uprising of 17 June 1953.

Castles and Cottages

203 mins | Drama | Feb. 9, 1957

Castles and Cottages
Lifelong hard work for the count makes the servant Anton a cripple. Everybody calls him Crooked Anton. When, after the end of the war, the land of the count gets divided amongst the farmers, Anton receives a piece and hopes to be able to work freely. But an old debt and intrigue keep Anton and his family from finding peace. The farmers of the village begin to discover their own power when Annegret, Anton's daughter, leaves. Is a new beginning possible for Anton? This film paints an impressive panorama of the development of a minor village in Mecklenburg from the end of the war to the uprising of 17 June 1953.
Producers DEFA
Original title Schlösser und Katen
Directors Kurt Maetzig
Writers Kurt Barthel, Kurt Maetzig

Cast

Raimund Schelcher

as Krummer Anton

Erika Dunkelmann

as Marthe

Karla Runkehl

as Annegret

Erwin Geschonneck

as estate inspector Bröker

Harry Hindemith

as Kalle Buddenboom

Helga Göring

as Christel Sikura

Wilhelm Puchert

as Jens Voss

Dieter Perlwitz

as Klimm

Hans Finohr

as old Sikura

Marga Legal

as Elisabeth Bröker

Lotte Loebinger

as old Sikura

Kurt Dunkelmann

as Wittig

Ekkehard Schall

as Ekkehart

Otto Saltzmann

as Paderski

Otto Krone

as Palm

Erich Franz

as man with leather jacket

Hans Klering

as Bräuning

Ulrich Thein

as agronomist

Gustav Püttjer

as postman

Paul R. Henker

as pastor Popp

Horst Kube

as drunk lad

Ellen Plessow

as aunt

Traute Sense

as Countess von Holzendorf

Martha Beschort-Diez

as Mrs. Wittig

Barbara Berg

as Ute Wittig

Maria Wendt

as Helene Klimm

Heinz Kögel

as Count of Holzendorf

Annelise Matschulat

as Mrs. Palm

Hans W. Hamacher

as Brother-in-law of Bräuning

Ludwig Sachs

as old farmer

Albert Zahn

as Karsten

Karl Kendzia

as farmer Mallmann

Karl Brenk

as farmer Kanne

Hermann Wagemann

as Farmer Weigant

Herbert Rüdiger

as farmer Einsiedel

Gertrud Brendler

as mrs. Paderski

Ditha Cullmann

as mrs. Fritsching

Paul Pfingst

as Fritsching

Alexander Papendiek

as soviet lieutenant

Ursula Weiss

as maid

Maria Besendahl

as Ollsch Voss

Elfriede Florin

as mrs. Heber

Jean Brahn

as cook / man on the wheel of fortune

Ursula Mundt

as Magd

Jochen Thomas

as large farmer

Leonhard Ritter

as large farmer

Liska Merbach

as A Lady

Karl-Heinz Weiss

as farmer

Frank Michelis

as farmer

Käte Alving

as peasant woman

Else Sanden

as peasant woman

Peter A. Stiege

as commissioner in civilian clothes

Einar List

as Annegret's boy

Ursula Blank

as refugee woman

Ursula Röschmann

as refugee woman

Waltraut Kramm

as refugee woman

Grete Carlsohn

as refugee woman

Hela Gruel

as refugee woman