The Miracle of Father Malachia
Encyclopedia
The Miracle of Father Malachia is a 1961 West German
black-and-white film directed by Bernhard Wicki and starring Horst Bollmann
. The film is based on the 1938 novel Father Malachy's Miracle
by Bruce Marshall
and tells the story of a supposed miracle in a West German town that is soon exploited and sensationalized by the media and profiteers. The film won several awards and was the official West German submission to the 34th Academy Awards
for Best Foreign Language Film
.
), who is praying to God that he will close the bar. The prayer is heard and the building and the bar and all people inside vanish and reappear on an island in the North Sea
. This apparent miracle draws the attention of the media, politicians and scientists, all trying to find rational explanations. The Catholic Church is reluctant to officially recognize this occurrence as a miracle, both fearing a loss of control in matters of faith, or a loss of face if the disappareance of the Eden bar would turn out to be a fabrication.
Meanwhile believers from all over the world pilgrimage to the former location of the bar. Soon the site becomes a fairground, with the towns people, profiteers and journalists trying to make a profit from the sudden influx of pilgrims and the miracle. This includes the sale of holy water, Malachia Stollen
and miniature models of the Eden bar. A young woman, who was in the bar during the night the bar vanished, becomes a media star. Financial investors are buying the island where the Eden bar reapparead, and construct a casino that soon attracts crowds of people.
Father Malachia is confronted with interview requests by journalists, pilgrims beleaguering the church and is hoping to meet the Father Malachia. As he has spent most of his life in the monastery he feels helpless in the face of the excesses of modern society. He soon regrets that he asked God for a miracle. He travels to the island and prays for a second miracle that will end the frenzy, and is heard by God who returns the Eden bar to its original location.
by the Scottish accountant and writer Bruce Marshall
. He wrote the script together with the screenwriter Heinz Pauck, planning to not only adapt the original novel, but also to expose the "social structure of our saturated [society]" . Writing the script took more than six months, whereas the actual filming took five months.
For the main role of Father Malachias Wicki casted the stage actor Horst Bollmann
, who had never played in a film. Other important roles were played by experienced film actors such as Richard Münch
or Günter Pfitzmann. Supporting actors were often lay actors who played a role corresponding to their real profession, as for example journalists, press photographers or businessmen. Several known people had cameo appearances in the film, including the German translator of Justine, Maria Carlsson as a socialite, the humorist and graphic artist Loriot
as a playboy and the film journalist Kurt Habernoll as a sausage vendor.
The film was shot completely on location and not a single scene was shot on on a studio set. Most scenes were shot in Gelsenkirchen
in the Ruhr Area
. In total 95 different locations were used, including several industrial sites and the Musiktheater im Revier
. A small part of the footage showing monks and priests was shot in advance at the Eucharistical World Congress in Munich
. To increase the authenticity of the film Wicki used real brand names such Miele
, König-Pilsener, Coca-Cola
or Telefunken
. Some brand names featured in fictional slogans that were used by those trying to make a profit from the miracle, for example "The girl that witnessed the miracle flies around the world with PAA
". or "Stay on earth — drive Borgward
" .
The film was planned to have its premiere at the International Film Festival
in Berlin
. As it was not yet completed the selection committee of the film festival saw only a raw cut of the film. This led to speculation in the tabloid press of a race against the time and that Wicki had collapsed at the cutting table due to the time pressure. Ultimately the film was finished only seven hours before it premiered at the festival.
wrote, against the background of the artistic and economic stagnation of the German film industry that Wicki is "a kind of Messiah ... who did not only have to prove himself and others his talent, but also had to show that the [German] film industry has a right to exist." . Die Welt
wrote that "the cinema of this country [Germany] is not yet finished" .
The film won several awards. Nationally, The Miracle of Father Malachia won the Silver Bear for Best Director
at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival
in 1961, and three German film awards
in the categories Best Actor, Best Set Design and a Filmband in Silber for Best Feature Film in 1962. In 1961 it also won the price of German Film Critics, the Goldene Muschel mit Perle in the category Best Actor and the Bambi
for best artistic achievement in the category German film.
Internationally the film won the Prize of the City at the Valladolid International Film Festival
in 1963. It was also chosen as West Germany's official submission to the 34th Academy Awards
for Best Foreign Language Film
, but did not manage to receive a nomination.
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
black-and-white film directed by Bernhard Wicki and starring Horst Bollmann
Horst Bollmann
Horst Bollmann is a German film and television actor.-External links:*...
. The film is based on the 1938 novel Father Malachy's Miracle
Father Malachy's Miracle
-Plot summary:Next to a church in a prosperous Scottish industrial town is the "Garden of Eden", a dance hall of dubious reputation. The "Garden of Eden" is a thorn in the side of the innocent and unworldly Catholic priest Father Malachy, who is praying to God that He will close the dance...
by Bruce Marshall
Bruce Marshall
Lieutenant-Colonel Claude Cunningham Bruce Marshall, known as Bruce Marshall was a prolific Scottish writer who wrote fiction and non-fiction books on a wide range of topics and genres. His first book, A Thief in the Night came out in 1918, possibly self-published...
and tells the story of a supposed miracle in a West German town that is soon exploited and sensationalized by the media and profiteers. The film won several awards and was the official West German submission to the 34th Academy Awards
34th Academy Awards
The 34th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1961, were held on April 9, 1962 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. They were hosted by Bob Hope; this was the seventh time Hope hosted the Oscars...
for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
.
Plot
Next to a church in a prosperous German industrial town is the Eden bar, a night club and brothel. The Eden bar is a thorn in the side of the worldly innocent monk Father Malachia (Horst BollmannHorst Bollmann
Horst Bollmann is a German film and television actor.-External links:*...
), who is praying to God that he will close the bar. The prayer is heard and the building and the bar and all people inside vanish and reappear on an island in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. This apparent miracle draws the attention of the media, politicians and scientists, all trying to find rational explanations. The Catholic Church is reluctant to officially recognize this occurrence as a miracle, both fearing a loss of control in matters of faith, or a loss of face if the disappareance of the Eden bar would turn out to be a fabrication.
Meanwhile believers from all over the world pilgrimage to the former location of the bar. Soon the site becomes a fairground, with the towns people, profiteers and journalists trying to make a profit from the sudden influx of pilgrims and the miracle. This includes the sale of holy water, Malachia Stollen
Stollen
A Stollen is a loaf-shaped cake containing dried fruit, and covered with sugar, powdered sugar or icing sugar. The cake is usually made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts and spices. Stollen is a traditional German cake, usually eaten during the Christmas season, when called...
and miniature models of the Eden bar. A young woman, who was in the bar during the night the bar vanished, becomes a media star. Financial investors are buying the island where the Eden bar reapparead, and construct a casino that soon attracts crowds of people.
Father Malachia is confronted with interview requests by journalists, pilgrims beleaguering the church and is hoping to meet the Father Malachia. As he has spent most of his life in the monastery he feels helpless in the face of the excesses of modern society. He soon regrets that he asked God for a miracle. He travels to the island and prays for a second miracle that will end the frenzy, and is heard by God who returns the Eden bar to its original location.
Cast
- Horst BollmannHorst BollmannHorst Bollmann is a German film and television actor.-External links:*...
as Father Malachias - Richard MünchRichard MünchRichard Heinrich Ludwig Münch , better known as Richard Münch, was a German actor, best known for portraying Alfred Jodl in Patton...
as Dr Erwin Glass - Christiane Nielsen as Helga Glass
- Günter Pfitzmann as Rudolf Reuschel
- Brigitte Grothum as Gussy
- Karin Hübner as Nelly Moorbach
- Pinkas Braun as Christian Krüger
- Kurt Ehrhardt as BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Reuschel - Curt Lauermann as CanonCanon (priest)A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
Kleinrath - Günter StrackGünter StrackGünter Strack was a German television actor.He was born in Darmstadt and died in Münchsteinach of heart failure.In 1966 he played the role as Professor Karl Manfred in Hitchcock's thriller Torn Curtain...
as ChaplainChaplainTraditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
Merz - Ludwig Thiesen as Chaplain Heidenreich
- Romuald Pekny as Papal legatePapal legateA papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
- Paul Edwin Roth as Secretary of the bishop
- Senta BergerSenta BergerSenta Berger is an Austrian film, stage and television actress, producer and author.Regarded by critics as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, and frequently named as one of the leading German-speaking actresses in polls, Berger has received many award nominations for her acting...
as Yvonne Krüger - Charlotte KerrCharlotte KerrCharlotte Kerr is a German director, film producer, actress, writer, and journalist.She first performed on stage in Fritz Kortner’s version of Schiller’s Don Carlos in 1951...
as Dr Renate Kellinghus
Production
Wicki based his film on the 1938 novel Father Malachy's MiracleFather Malachy's Miracle
-Plot summary:Next to a church in a prosperous Scottish industrial town is the "Garden of Eden", a dance hall of dubious reputation. The "Garden of Eden" is a thorn in the side of the innocent and unworldly Catholic priest Father Malachy, who is praying to God that He will close the dance...
by the Scottish accountant and writer Bruce Marshall
Bruce Marshall
Lieutenant-Colonel Claude Cunningham Bruce Marshall, known as Bruce Marshall was a prolific Scottish writer who wrote fiction and non-fiction books on a wide range of topics and genres. His first book, A Thief in the Night came out in 1918, possibly self-published...
. He wrote the script together with the screenwriter Heinz Pauck, planning to not only adapt the original novel, but also to expose the "social structure of our saturated [society]" . Writing the script took more than six months, whereas the actual filming took five months.
For the main role of Father Malachias Wicki casted the stage actor Horst Bollmann
Horst Bollmann
Horst Bollmann is a German film and television actor.-External links:*...
, who had never played in a film. Other important roles were played by experienced film actors such as Richard Münch
Richard Münch
Richard Heinrich Ludwig Münch , better known as Richard Münch, was a German actor, best known for portraying Alfred Jodl in Patton...
or Günter Pfitzmann. Supporting actors were often lay actors who played a role corresponding to their real profession, as for example journalists, press photographers or businessmen. Several known people had cameo appearances in the film, including the German translator of Justine, Maria Carlsson as a socialite, the humorist and graphic artist Loriot
Vicco von Bülow
Bernhard Victor Christoph Carl von Bülow , more commonly known under the pseudonym Loriot, was a German comedian, humorist, cartoonist, film director, actor and writer.He is most well known for his cartoons, the sketches from his 1976 television series...
as a playboy and the film journalist Kurt Habernoll as a sausage vendor.
The film was shot completely on location and not a single scene was shot on on a studio set. Most scenes were shot in Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
in the Ruhr Area
Ruhr Area
The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
. In total 95 different locations were used, including several industrial sites and the Musiktheater im Revier
Musiktheater im Revier
Musiktheater im Revier is the venue for performing opera, operetta, musical theatre and ballet in Gelsenkirchen, Germany...
. A small part of the footage showing monks and priests was shot in advance at the Eucharistical World Congress in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. To increase the authenticity of the film Wicki used real brand names such Miele
Miele
Miele is a manufacturer of high-end domestic appliances, commercial equipment and fitted kitchens, based in Gütersloh, Germany. Miele has always been a family-owned and -run company, founded in 1899 by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann.-History:...
, König-Pilsener, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
or Telefunken
Telefunken
Telefunken is a German radio and television apparatus company, founded in Berlin in 1903, as a joint venture of Siemens & Halske and the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft...
. Some brand names featured in fictional slogans that were used by those trying to make a profit from the miracle, for example "The girl that witnessed the miracle flies around the world with PAA
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
". or "Stay on earth — drive Borgward
Borgward
Borgward was a German automobile manufacturer founded by Carl F. W. Borgward . The company was based in Bremen...
" .
The film was planned to have its premiere at the International Film Festival
11th Berlin International Film Festival
The 11th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 23 to July 4, 1961.-Jury:* James Quinn * France Roche* Marc Turfkruyer* Satyajit Ray* Gian Luigi Rondi* Hirosugu Ozaki* Nicholas Ray* Falk Harnack* Hans Schaarwächter...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. As it was not yet completed the selection committee of the film festival saw only a raw cut of the film. This led to speculation in the tabloid press of a race against the time and that Wicki had collapsed at the cutting table due to the time pressure. Ultimately the film was finished only seven hours before it premiered at the festival.
Distribution and responses
Upon release the film received positive, albeit not enthusiastic reviews by the German press. The Süddeutsche ZeitungSüddeutsche Zeitung
The Süddeutsche Zeitung , published in Munich, is the largest German national subscription daily newspaper.-Profile:The title literally translates as "South German Newspaper". It is read throughout Germany by 1.1 million readers daily and boasts a relatively high circulation abroad...
wrote, against the background of the artistic and economic stagnation of the German film industry that Wicki is "a kind of Messiah ... who did not only have to prove himself and others his talent, but also had to show that the [German] film industry has a right to exist." . Die Welt
Die Welt
Die Welt is a German national daily newspaper published by the Axel Springer AG company.It was founded in Hamburg in 1946 by the British occupying forces, aiming to provide a "quality newspaper" modelled on The Times...
wrote that "the cinema of this country [Germany] is not yet finished" .
The film won several awards. Nationally, The Miracle of Father Malachia won the Silver Bear for Best Director
Silver Bear for Best Director
The Silver Bear for Best Director is the Berlin International Film Festival's award for best achievement in direction.-Awards:-Repeated winners:*Mario Monicelli *Satyajit Ray *Carlos Saura -External links:*...
at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival
11th Berlin International Film Festival
The 11th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 23 to July 4, 1961.-Jury:* James Quinn * France Roche* Marc Turfkruyer* Satyajit Ray* Gian Luigi Rondi* Hirosugu Ozaki* Nicholas Ray* Falk Harnack* Hans Schaarwächter...
in 1961, and three German film awards
Deutscher Filmpreis
The Deutscher Filmpreis is the highest German movie award. From 1951 to 2004 it was awarded by a commission, since 2005 the award has been given by the Deutsche Filmakademie...
in the categories Best Actor, Best Set Design and a Filmband in Silber for Best Feature Film in 1962. In 1961 it also won the price of German Film Critics, the Goldene Muschel mit Perle in the category Best Actor and the Bambi
Bambi (prize)
The Bambi - Deutschlands Wichtigster Medienpreis, often simply called Bambi Awards and stylized as BAMBI, are presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year",...
for best artistic achievement in the category German film.
Internationally the film won the Prize of the City at the Valladolid International Film Festival
Seminci
Valladolid International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain since 1956....
in 1963. It was also chosen as West Germany's official submission to the 34th Academy Awards
34th Academy Awards
The 34th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1961, were held on April 9, 1962 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. They were hosted by Bob Hope; this was the seventh time Hope hosted the Oscars...
for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, but did not manage to receive a nomination.