Die Fledermaus

Die Fledermaus

103 mins | Oct. 30, 1937

The delightful Johann Strauss comic opera Die Fledermaus was mercilessly lampooned in this truly bizarre production. For starters, a framing device has been added: After appearing in 300 consecutive appearances of Fledermaus (which translates as The Bat) the lead tenor (Georg Alexander) imagines that he's seeing bats everywhere. Driven a bit over the edge by all this, he falls asleep and has a nightmare about the opera, with a group of non-singers cast in the leading roles. The original libretto about romantic assignations, political imprisonments and mistaken identity is burlesqued to the hilt: at one point, the hero finds out that his prison cell is surrounded by rubber tubes!

Die Fledermaus

103 mins | Oct. 30, 1937

Die Fledermaus
The delightful Johann Strauss comic opera Die Fledermaus was mercilessly lampooned in this truly bizarre production. For starters, a framing device has been added: After appearing in 300 consecutive appearances of Fledermaus (which translates as The Bat) the lead tenor (Georg Alexander) imagines that he's seeing bats everywhere. Driven a bit over the edge by all this, he falls asleep and has a nightmare about the opera, with a group of non-singers cast in the leading roles. The original libretto about romantic assignations, political imprisonments and mistaken identity is burlesqued to the hilt: at one point, the hero finds out that his prison cell is surrounded by rubber tubes!
Producers Tobis Filmkunst, Imagoton
Original title Die Fledermaus
Directors Hans H. Zerlett, Paul Verhoeven
Writers Richard Genée, Carl Haffner, Lotte Neumann, Walter Wassermann

Cast

Lída Baarová

as Maria Weigel / Rosalinde

Hans Söhnker

as Kammersänger Hans Weigel / Eisenstein

Friedl Czepa

as Hanni / Adele

Jola Jobst

as Berta / Ida

Georg Alexander

as Staatsanwalt Wentin / Frank

Robert Dorsay

as Chauffeur Franz / Alfred

Hans Moser

as Hans Moser

Harald Paulsen

as Rechtsanwalt Dr. Rommel / Dr.Falke

Karl Stepanek

as Attaché Baranoff / Orlovsky

Hans Stiebner

as Kapellmeister

Otto Graf

as Rundfunkreporter

Albert Ihle

as Präsident

Arthur Kistenmacher

as Polizist

Erwin Werner

as Bühnenarbeiter