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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:17 pm
by Mike Gebert
Well there's the problem. Everyone knows Sig Arno isn't American. I think he's Baluchistan, but it's impossible to tell!
Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:47 pm
by T0m M
Arndt,
Thank-you for the enlightenment. I went back and reviewed the scene with your comments in mind. I don't have any problem with making fun of Americans and your insight did somewhat reduce my irritation with the scene, but I still prefer the LD version without this scene. I will probably download a copy of the DVD, edit the scene out and burn myself a DVD.
Don't worry Mike, I'll keep the original, commerical DVD, so that the burnt, edited copy will be a back-up and everything will be legal.
Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:17 pm
by Mike Gebert
I don't care what you do at home. I just get in trouble if you share it here. (And I strongly believe in supporting the labels who put everything on the line to bring us this stuff.)
Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:43 pm
by boblipton
Arndt wrote:I don't quite know how to say this, but the excentric beard and garish clothes together with the wads of cash are there to mark the character out as an...American! I guess this is the European equivalent of the ethnic humour found in many American films of the 20s, but now ze shoe is on ze ozer foot!
The comical American is being played by Siegfried (later Sig) Arno, a popular 20s comedian who for a while formed a comedy team with Kurt Gerron, very much like in this scene from TAGEBUCH EINER VERLORENEN.
Best known in American films as Toto in Preston Sturges' PALM BEACH STORY.
Bob
Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 2:39 pm
by rogerskarsten
I wonder, is Thymian's attempt at being a calisthenics instructor Papst's own embellishment to the story, or does such an episode exist in Margarete Böhme's novel as well?
~Roger
Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 2:17 am
by Brooksie
Perhaps I was reading too much into it (I wouldn't have done if not for the time and place in which it had been filmed), but I interpreted the character in the calisthenics scene as a pretty unpleasant - though not uncommon - caricature of a Jew. As I say, this could be over-interpretation, but it's such an odd sequence that it's the only thing I could think of.
Going back to E.A. Dupont - we had a discussion about him last year:
http://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.p ... f564f44cef. I'd still like to know whether the adoration his work inspired at the time was justified, or whether he was a journeyman who had a few flukes (and a genius cinematographer in Karl Freund). I doubt I will ever have the chance to see a diverse enough range of his work to say for certain.