Five Cartridges
Encyclopedia
Five Cartridges is a 1960
East German film directed by Frank Beyer
and starring Erwin Geschonneck
, Armin Mueller-Stahl
and Manfred Krug
.
, a battalion of the International Brigades
is cut off withouts water or ammunition. The commander, Major Bolaños, requests his commissar, the German Heinrich Witting, to select five volunteers who will remain in the trenches and hold off the enemy, while the battalion retreats across the Ebro River. Witting chooses the Frenchman Pierre, the German Willi, the Pole Oleg, the Spaniard José and the Bulgarian Dimitri. In addition, the Soviet radio operator Vasia stays behind to handle communications.
After the battalion leaves, the group fends off the Nationalists for several hours and then breaks out. Vasia disappears; while searching for him, Witting is spotted by the enemy and shot. Before he dies, he rips a piece of paper into five parts which he encapsulates in spent cartridges. He gives a cartridge to each of his five men and orders them to carry it back to the battalion, claiming it is an important message. It would be decipherable only if all the pieces would reach their destination.
After finding Vasia, The volunteers make their way across the Sierra in the hot summer, and run out of water. All the wells in the area are guarded by the Nationalists. The group's members become desperate with thirst, and their attempts to get water are frustrated. They begin to quarrel among themselves. Vasia, mad with thirst, wanders into a village to have some water and is caught by the Guardia Civil. Before being executed, the others rescue him. Vasia then volunteers to halt off the chasing Falangists; pretending to surrender, he approaches the enemy soldiers with a grenade in his hand and dies when it explodes. Afterwards, Pierre leaves his cover to try and drink from a well, only to be shot dead.
The others, almost too dehydrated to move, cross the Ebro and rejoin the battalion. When the cartridges are unsealed, they learn that the message was: "Stay together, so you will survive".
, enabling Beyer to "plan all the necessary arrangements for a scene before its shooting began".
The principal photography took place in Bulgaria and in DEFA's studios in Berlin. The intro song - Die Jaramafront - was performed by Ernst Busch
.
Five Cartridges won Frank Beyer great acclaim. Beyer, composer Joachim Werzlau, set designer Alfred Hirschmeier and cinematographer Günter Marczinkowsky were all awarded the Heinrich Greif Prize
on 13 May 1961.
Paul Cooke and Marc Silberman viewed the film as a classical anti-Fascist work, noting that it was rather a political statement than a war film. Stefan Deines wrote that it was not surprising that Pierre - whose country, France, was the only one among those represented at Five Cartridges in which the communist party opted not to try and take power - was the one who left the group, and subsequently killed. They also noted other communist political influences on the plot, like when José chalks a message for the nationalist soldiers in which he asks them why they are fighting against their working-class brothers. In another scene, a Falanga officer tells his colleague, "If you could tell me how can the communists endure without water while we cannot, you will be promoted to General."
Seán Allan and John Sandford characterized the film as an "expressionist drama in which the lonely heroes are set against the inhuman landscape and an invisible enemy" and thus bearing "remarkable similarities" to the westerners of John Ford.
1960 in film
The year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
East German film directed by Frank Beyer
Frank Beyer
Frank Beyer was German film director. In East Germany he was one of the most important film directors, working for the state film monopoly DEFA and directed films that dealt mostly with the Nazi era and contemporary East Germany. His film Traces of Stones was banned for 20 years in 1966 by the...
and starring Erwin Geschonneck
Erwin Geschonneck
Erwin Geschonneck was a German actor. His biggest success occurred in the German Democratic Republic, where he was considered one of the most famous actors of the time.-Early life:...
, Armin Mueller-Stahl
Armin Mueller-Stahl
Armin Mueller-Stahl is a German film actor, painter, writer and musician.-Early life:Mueller-Stahl was born in Tilsit, East Prussia...
and Manfred Krug
Manfred Krug
Manfred Krug is a German actor and singer.-Life and work:After moving to East Germany at the age of 13, Manfred Krug worked at a steel plant before beginning his acting career on the stage and, ultimately, in film...
.
Plot
During the Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, a battalion of the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
is cut off withouts water or ammunition. The commander, Major Bolaños, requests his commissar, the German Heinrich Witting, to select five volunteers who will remain in the trenches and hold off the enemy, while the battalion retreats across the Ebro River. Witting chooses the Frenchman Pierre, the German Willi, the Pole Oleg, the Spaniard José and the Bulgarian Dimitri. In addition, the Soviet radio operator Vasia stays behind to handle communications.
After the battalion leaves, the group fends off the Nationalists for several hours and then breaks out. Vasia disappears; while searching for him, Witting is spotted by the enemy and shot. Before he dies, he rips a piece of paper into five parts which he encapsulates in spent cartridges. He gives a cartridge to each of his five men and orders them to carry it back to the battalion, claiming it is an important message. It would be decipherable only if all the pieces would reach their destination.
After finding Vasia, The volunteers make their way across the Sierra in the hot summer, and run out of water. All the wells in the area are guarded by the Nationalists. The group's members become desperate with thirst, and their attempts to get water are frustrated. They begin to quarrel among themselves. Vasia, mad with thirst, wanders into a village to have some water and is caught by the Guardia Civil. Before being executed, the others rescue him. Vasia then volunteers to halt off the chasing Falangists; pretending to surrender, he approaches the enemy soldiers with a grenade in his hand and dies when it explodes. Afterwards, Pierre leaves his cover to try and drink from a well, only to be shot dead.
The others, almost too dehydrated to move, cross the Ebro and rejoin the battalion. When the cartridges are unsealed, they learn that the message was: "Stay together, so you will survive".
Cast
- Fritz DiezFritz DiezNot to be confused with the West German industrialist Fritz Dietz.Fritz Diez was a German actor, producer, director and theater manager.-Early life:...
as Major Bolaños - Erwin GeschonneckErwin GeschonneckErwin Geschonneck was a German actor. His biggest success occurred in the German Democratic Republic, where he was considered one of the most famous actors of the time.-Early life:...
as Heinrich Witting - Ulrich TheinUlrich TheinUlrich Thein was a German actor film director and screenwriter. He appeared in 44 films and television shows between 1953 and 1995...
as Vasia - Armin Mueller-StahlArmin Mueller-StahlArmin Mueller-Stahl is a German film actor, painter, writer and musician.-Early life:Mueller-Stahl was born in Tilsit, East Prussia...
as Pierre Gireau - Manfred KrugManfred KrugManfred Krug is a German actor and singer.-Life and work:After moving to East Germany at the age of 13, Manfred Krug worked at a steel plant before beginning his acting career on the stage and, ultimately, in film...
as Oleg Zalevski - Edwin Marian as José Martinez
- Ernst-Georg Schwill as Willi Seifert
- Günter Naumann as Dimitri Pandorov
- Johannes Maus as Karl
- Jochen Diestelmann as Jerri
- Harald Jopt as Sanchez
- Dom de Beern as Otto
- Fritz-Ernst Fechner as Jirka
- Hans-Hartmut Krüger as legionnaire
- Hans Finohr as Pedro
- Walter Schramm as Juan
- Joe Schorn as lieutenant
- Wilhelm Otto Eckardt as priest
- Hans Sievers as radio operator
- Karl Block as Lopez
- Fred Ludwig as sergeant
- Alexander Papendiek as Nationalist officer
- Fred Düren as the nationalist officer
- Hans-Ulrich Lauffer as nationalist officer
- Hans-Jürgen Degenhardt as pilot
Production
Director Frank Beyer told an interviewer that he was drawn to making Five Cartridges due to it having "three dimensions: a political subject, a thrilling story and a dialog-poor, mostly picturesque narrative." The film was one of the first to employ the technique of a storyboardStoryboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
, enabling Beyer to "plan all the necessary arrangements for a scene before its shooting began".
The principal photography took place in Bulgaria and in DEFA's studios in Berlin. The intro song - Die Jaramafront - was performed by Ernst Busch
Ernst Busch (actor)
Ernst Busch was a German singer and actor.Busch first rose to prominence as an interpreter of political songs, particularly those of Kurt Tucholsky, in the Berlin Kabarett scene of the 1920s...
.
Reception
Five Cartridges won Frank Beyer great acclaim. Beyer, composer Joachim Werzlau, set designer Alfred Hirschmeier and cinematographer Günter Marczinkowsky were all awarded the Heinrich Greif Prize
Heinrich Greif Prize
The Heinrich Greif Prize was an East German state award bestowed on individuals for contribution to the state's cinema and television industry.-History:...
on 13 May 1961.
Paul Cooke and Marc Silberman viewed the film as a classical anti-Fascist work, noting that it was rather a political statement than a war film. Stefan Deines wrote that it was not surprising that Pierre - whose country, France, was the only one among those represented at Five Cartridges in which the communist party opted not to try and take power - was the one who left the group, and subsequently killed. They also noted other communist political influences on the plot, like when José chalks a message for the nationalist soldiers in which he asks them why they are fighting against their working-class brothers. In another scene, a Falanga officer tells his colleague, "If you could tell me how can the communists endure without water while we cannot, you will be promoted to General."
Seán Allan and John Sandford characterized the film as an "expressionist drama in which the lonely heroes are set against the inhuman landscape and an invisible enemy" and thus bearing "remarkable similarities" to the westerners of John Ford.