The Sailor's Song
Encyclopedia
The Sailor's Song is an East German black-and-white film directed by Kurt Maetzig
and Günter Reisch
. It was released in 1958.
sweep through the world, the German High Seas Fleet
's command, weary of a mutiny, decides to send all its ships to a suicide mission in the English Channel. Sailors Albin Köbis
and Max Reichpietsch
are sentenced to death for political activity. When the socialist sailor Steigert, a member of the firing detail, cannot bring himself to shoot them, he is arrested. On the cruiser Prince Heinrich, Steigert's friends Lenz, Lobke, Kasten and Bartuschek receive Vladimir Lenin
's transmit to all of mankind calling for peace. Slowly, the sailors in Kiel — all members of different socialist parties: the Social Democrats
, the Independent Socialists
and the Spartakists — begin to realize the need for a revolution. The workers and the shipmates rebel against the officers and the capitalists
, but the political gaps between them lead the uprising to a failure. In the end, many of the rebel sailors attend the foundation conference of the new Communist Party of Germany
.
's Conference on Cultural Affairs at October 1957, during which the East German establishment embraced a conservative line and ended the brief period of liberalization that begun after Nikita Khrushchev
's Secret Speech. The Sailor's Song was commissioned shortly after, for the celebrations of the fortieth anniversary to the German Revolution.
The script writers Paul Wiens and Karl Georg Egel were instructed to present the 1918 Revolution in accordance with the official interpretation of history; Walter Ulbricht
told that it failed due to the "opportunistic" Social Democrats and to the lack of a Marxist-Leninist party that would have led the workers "in the smashing of the capitalistic economical apparatus." The plot highlighted the achievements of the Spartacus League, and culminated in the founding of the Communist Party of Germany
.
Principal photography commenced on June 3, 1958. Directors Kurt Maetzig
and Günter Reisch
worked separately; the first's crew was responsible for the scenes involving the officers and the admirals, while the latter filmed those with the sailors and the crowds. The Sailor's Song was the greatest project undertaken by DEFA up to that time, and was larger in scale even than Ernst Thälmann
. 15,000 workers, soldiers and People's policemen were used as extras during the filming. Since Kiel
, the city in which the revolution took place, was located in West Germany, the directors used sets that were constructed in Goerlitz, Warnemünde
and Rostock
.
, 2nd degree, for his work on the film, as well as a special Peace Prize in the Moscow Film Festival held on that year.
DEFA Studio's director Albert Wilkening wrote that no picture, except Ernst Thälmann, ever touched the people of East Germany as deeply as The Sailor's Song . The SED considered it as one of the country's greatest cinematic achievements, and this view was upheld until the German Reunification
.. Critics Miera and Antonin Liehm claimed that it a "made for order" film that was "clumsy and heavy handed".
The German Film Lexicon cited it as "well designed, but obviously propagandistic."
Kurt Maetzig
Kurt Maetzig is an East German film director who had a significant effect on the film industry in the GDR. He is one of the most respected filmmakers of East Germany. He currently lives in Wildkuhl, Mecklenburg, and has three children....
and Günter Reisch
Günter Reisch
Günter Reisch, is a German film director. After World War II, Reisch started working with theater and film and became one of East Germany's most prominent film makers. He has made approx. 20 motion pictures, including the two Karl Liebknecht films.-Selected filmography:* The Sailor's Song * Ach du...
. It was released in 1958.
Plot
As the news of the October RevolutionOctober Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
sweep through the world, the German High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
's command, weary of a mutiny, decides to send all its ships to a suicide mission in the English Channel. Sailors Albin Köbis
Albin Köbis
Albin Köbis was a German sailor executed in 1917 for Marxist agitation in the Imperial German Navy. He enlisted as a volunteer in 1912 and served on the battleship Prinzregent Luitpold...
and Max Reichpietsch
Max Reichpietsch
Max Reichpietsch was a German sailor executed in 1917 for socialist agitation in the German Navy. He joined the navy as a volunteer in 1912 and served on the battleship Friedrich der Grosse...
are sentenced to death for political activity. When the socialist sailor Steigert, a member of the firing detail, cannot bring himself to shoot them, he is arrested. On the cruiser Prince Heinrich, Steigert's friends Lenz, Lobke, Kasten and Bartuschek receive Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
's transmit to all of mankind calling for peace. Slowly, the sailors in Kiel — all members of different socialist parties: the Social Democrats
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
, the Independent Socialists
Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany was a short-lived political party in Germany during the Second Reich and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of left wing members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany...
and the Spartakists — begin to realize the need for a revolution. The workers and the shipmates rebel against the officers and the capitalists
Wilhelmshaven mutiny
The Kiel mutiny was a major revolt by sailors of the German High Seas Fleet on 3 November 1918. The revolt triggered the German revolution which was to sweep aside the monarchy within a few days. It ultimately led to the end of the First World War and to the establishment of the Weimar Republic.-...
, but the political gaps between them lead the uprising to a failure. In the end, many of the rebel sailors attend the foundation conference of the new Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
.
Cast
- Hilmar Thate as Ludwig Bartuschek
- Raimund Schelcher as August Lenz
- Günther SimonGünther Simon-Early life:A bank clerk's son, Simon attended an acting school already in Gymnasium. At the age of sixteen, he was sent to a pre-military training camp of the Hitler Youth and then drafted to the Reich Labour Service. He volunteered to join the paratroopers in August 1943...
as Erich Steigert - 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 Henne Lobke - Horst KubeHorst Kube-Selected filmography:* Ernst Thälmann - Führer seiner Klasse * A Berlin Romance * Der Fackelträger * Schlösser und Katen * Don't Forget My Little Traudel * Zwei Mütter * The Sailor's Song...
as Jens Kasten - Stefan Lisewski as Jupp König
- Jochen Thomas as Sebastian Huber
- Vladimir Gulyayev as Grisha
- Dieter Klamand as Kuddel König
- Elfriede Née as Berta König
- Ekkehard SchallEkkehard SchallEkkehard Schall was a German stage and screen actor/director.He was one of the best profiled actors of Brecht's works and together with Helene Weigel a member of the Berliner Ensemble....
as Schuckert - Adolf Peter Hoffmann as Gollwitz
- Wolfgang Langhoff as attorney
- Siegfried WeißSiegfried Weiß (actor)-Biography:Weiss made his artistic debut on the stage of the Halberstadt Theater, at 1924. He continued his career in the theaters of Luebeck, Koenigsberg, Magdeburg, Leipzig and Berlin, where he acted in the Berlin Ensemble, among others....
as Captain - Hans-Ulrich Lauffer as machine gunner
- Hans-Hartmut Krüger as officer
- Fred DelmareFred DelmareFred Delmare was a German actor.He was born in Hüttensteinach. He appeared in several films and television series, last in 70 episodes of In aller Freundschaft between 1998 and 2006. He died in May, 1 2009....
as sailor - Rolf Ripperger as sailor
- Sabine Thalbach as lady
Production
The Sailor's Song was conceived in aftermath of the Socialist Unity PartySocialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
's Conference on Cultural Affairs at October 1957, during which the East German establishment embraced a conservative line and ended the brief period of liberalization that begun after Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
's Secret Speech. The Sailor's Song was commissioned shortly after, for the celebrations of the fortieth anniversary to the German Revolution.
The script writers Paul Wiens and Karl Georg Egel were instructed to present the 1918 Revolution in accordance with the official interpretation of history; Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 , he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany and later in the early development and...
told that it failed due to the "opportunistic" Social Democrats and to the lack of a Marxist-Leninist party that would have led the workers "in the smashing of the capitalistic economical apparatus." The plot highlighted the achievements of the Spartacus League, and culminated in the founding of the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
.
Principal photography commenced on June 3, 1958. Directors Kurt Maetzig
Kurt Maetzig
Kurt Maetzig is an East German film director who had a significant effect on the film industry in the GDR. He is one of the most respected filmmakers of East Germany. He currently lives in Wildkuhl, Mecklenburg, and has three children....
and Günter Reisch
Günter Reisch
Günter Reisch, is a German film director. After World War II, Reisch started working with theater and film and became one of East Germany's most prominent film makers. He has made approx. 20 motion pictures, including the two Karl Liebknecht films.-Selected filmography:* The Sailor's Song * Ach du...
worked separately; the first's crew was responsible for the scenes involving the officers and the admirals, while the latter filmed those with the sailors and the crowds. The Sailor's Song was the greatest project undertaken by DEFA up to that time, and was larger in scale even than Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann (film)
Ernst Thälmann is an East German film in two parts about the life of the German Communist leader Ernst Thälmann, directed by Kurt Maetzig and starring Günther Simon in the title role. The first picture, Ernst Thälmann - Sohn seiner Klasse , was released at 1954...
. 15,000 workers, soldiers and People's policemen were used as extras during the filming. Since Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, the city in which the revolution took place, was located in West Germany, the directors used sets that were constructed in Goerlitz, Warnemünde
Warnemünde
Warnemünde is a sea resort and northmost district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, situated on the Baltic Sea in the northeast of Germany at the estuary of the river Warnow.- History :...
and Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
.
Reception
At 1959, Maetzig won East Germany's National PrizeNational Prize of East Germany
The National Prize of the German Democratic Republic was an award of the German Democratic Republic given out in three different classes for scientific, artistic, and other meritorious achievement...
, 2nd degree, for his work on the film, as well as a special Peace Prize in the Moscow Film Festival held on that year.
DEFA Studio's director Albert Wilkening wrote that no picture, except Ernst Thälmann, ever touched the people of East Germany as deeply as The Sailor's Song . The SED considered it as one of the country's greatest cinematic achievements, and this view was upheld until the German Reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
.. Critics Miera and Antonin Liehm claimed that it a "made for order" film that was "clumsy and heavy handed".
The German Film Lexicon cited it as "well designed, but obviously propagandistic."