II. Anmerkungen zum Buchtext, Teil II - Einsnull
II. Anmerkungen zum Buchtext, Teil II - Einsnull II. Anmerkungen zum Buchtext, Teil II - Einsnull
singing! As is well-known, the film is now lost save for a few rediscovered fragments, but rumours persist that a copy surfaced in East Germany in the early 60s. At around the same time as ROGUE SONG’s production, near the end of 1929, Hal Roach had embarked on a rather fascinating – if painstaking – different way of producing export versions of his hit comedies, that is, by means of shooting alternate, «phonetic» foreign-language versions. The approach was also used by major studios – examples include Garbo in ANNA CHRISTIE or Keaton in CASANOVA WIDER WILLEN (PARLOR, BE- DROOM AND BATH) – and Germans tried the same thing with, for instance, THE BLUE ANGEL or .P.1, or the British/German co-production NIGHT BIRDS. The technique had its limitations – Garbo, for example, had at least worked in Germany, but Laurel and Hardy were monolingual, and if LES CAROTTIERS (the surviving rench adaptation combining BE BIG and LAUGHING GRAVY) is any indication, the comedians could sometimes struggle quite a bit with the foreign pronunciation. That said, «funny» pronunciation may have been much more acceptable in a comedy rather than in a dramatic subject. Thus, up to at least four different language versions were shot of a number of Laurel and Hardy films. ilmographies are often sketchy on this aspect, claiming 8-10 films of the team’s films were re-shot in German. The research for this book has been the first attempt to confirm this filmographic aspect from contemporary German sources, and actually a mere three adaptations can be substantiated beyond doubt, BRATS, THE LAUREL-HARDY MURDER CASE (combined with BERTH MARKS) and PARDON US. Indeed, of NIGHT OWLS, one of the titles often mentioned in this context, no German release of any kind can be proven in this period. Anyway, GLÜCKLICHE KINDHEIT (BRATS, «Happy Childhood») was the first-ever German-language Laurel and Hardy film to be shown in Germany, at a trade exhibition in March 1931. Homer Croy has written about his observing Laurel and Hardy’s attempts at the German language in this particular film in an often-quoted essay. Contemporary German reviews further confirm that Laurel and Hardy «even speak German themselves, albeit with a heavy American accent only amplifying their comedy.» Interestingly though, this German screening does not constitute the film’s actual premiere. Ironically, that was in New York, where GLÜCKLICHE KINDHEIT was shown with the feature travelogue HEIMATKLÄNGE («Sounds of Home») in the 8 th Street Playhouse in New York’s German district. Thus, Variety had a chance to observe on ebruary 18, 1931, but was mistaken in assuming that other actors provided Laurel and Hardy’s German dialogue: «Away from the US, in foreign countries, Laurel and Hardy appear to be the ace film attraction. Though in shorts, they are heavily billed, with the foreign theatre where one of their shorts is playing seemingly certain of a profitable period. In Spanish territories Laurel and Hardy are a panic the moment the moment they commence to speak. This is regardless of any action. They speak with a comical accent to the natives. Their Spanish must sound like Milt Gross’ dialect does to Americans. rom the manner in which an audience continually laughs at the couple of comics, the dialect must be extremely funny to them. These natives like the comedy situations, but they start to laugh when the billing goes up for Laurel and Hardy, as they know their dialog alone will be sufficient. It’s probably the same in German or with any other foreign tongue the couple employ. Whoever does the talking for them must have been a dialectician in his home country of much stage value. This is THE BRATS in its original version so far as action is concerned. Comedy team speaks German. Laurel and Hardy’s German occasionally possesses a decided American twang. Certain bet, however, for export.» In general release in Germany though, BRATS’ German equivalent was actually preceded by another phonetic German Laurel and Hardy film, SPUK UM MITTERNACHT («Spooks at Midnight») a combined adaptation of BERTH MARKS plus THE LAUREL-HARDY MURDER CASE. This film was even shown in the Netherlands «with 100% German dialogue», as the Dutch ads blurbed, and again the critics observed: «The two comedians speak German – but what a German! Every word resembles a chewing gum slowly pulled out of the mouth. That and the contrasting pantomime. Economy and translation of expression that no European can imitate from Americans.»
Some dialogue modifications were implemented for the foreign versions – Ollie: Did you have an uncle? Stan: He’s at the University of Berlin. Ollie: As a professor? Stan: No, preserved in a jar soaked in spirit! –a joke mirrored in the Spanish version by placing Stan’s uncle at the University of Barcelona! SPUK UM MITTERNACHT successfully played in its opening venue for a full 18 days, easily beating the earlier ROGUE SONG, and also Danish competitors Pat and Patachon’s latest silent. ollowing a long search, a slightly incomplete print of the film has since been recovered. Supplemented with a few sequences from the English and Spanish versions to replace the missing German footage, the film re-premiered on August 14, 2004 during the Bonner Sommerkino, 73 years after it was first shown. The original length of the 1931 German release of SPUK UM MITTERNACHT – at four reels, or 1095 metres – does, however, pose yet another research question. The German SPUK is shorter than the Spanish NOCHE DE DUEN- DES, but it is known that an Austrian variant of the German-language edition (retitled DREI MILLIONEN DOL- LAR, or «Three Million Dollars») was released in Vienna during November 1931 at five reels, or 1600 metres, or in other words at a length similar to its Spanish counterpart. There is the possibility that the overlong sleeping-berth sequence of NOCHE (which was shot before the German version) was tightened immediately before SPUK was produced, although this poses the question as to why the final version of NOCHE was not edited accordingly. Equally possible – and indeed probable, given the availability of a longer German version in Austria – is that SPUK started life at the same length as NOCHE, but that the German office of MGM decided to edit their release, whereas the distributors in Austria left their version unaltered. One of the more intriguing German counterparts of American Laurel and Hardy films is that of HOLLY- WOOD REVUE O 1929, which was essentially re-made with German artists substituting for some of their American colleagues as WIR SCHALTEN UM AU HOLLYWOOD. Among the actors taken over from the original release of the film was Buster Keaton; the German version survives, but Laurel and Hardy do not appear in it. However, subtitled prints of the English language variant, with the Laurel and Hardy segment included, were shown in Austria. The era of phonetic Roach versions soon came to an end – M-G-M had a hard time using the concept with the likes of Garbo and Gable and preferred the technique to be suspended – but before that was to happen, Laurel and Hardy had to repeat their linguistic struggles once more, this time in a genuine feature-length format. HINTER SCHLOSS UND RIEGEL («Behind Lock and Bolt») was the phonetic German equivalent of PARDON US, a parody of M-G-M’s prison drama THE BIG HOUSE, which in turn had been reshot with a German cast as MEN- SCHEN HINTER GITTERN («Men Behind Bars»). Coupled with a vintage Chaplin short (A NIGHT IN THE SHOW, from 1915), the comedians’ take on the subject premiered on April 23, 1932. Heavily streamlined in its US version following previews, the expanded foreign versions retained much of what was cut from the domestic release. It is reasonable to assume that the German version followed the lines of the expanded Spanish version, DE BOTE EN BOTE, which has resurfaced and been distributed on TV and video. The complete rench version, SOUS LES VERROUS – and possibly an additional Italian version called MURAGLIE – remain elusive (which is especially frustrating in the case of the rench version, since Boris Karloff is seen in one production still from this variant), and so does most of the German one. However, a precious couple of minutes have been rediscovered in the form of a Danish (!) trailer, which film historian Peter Mikkelsen obtained in July 1999. Hearing Laurel and Hardy speak German for the first time (or at least trying) in this footage was an incredible thrill for German aficionados, and they had a chance without much delay: the rediscovery even made it into the German television news, clips and all. The TV news reports remained available on the internet for a while, and nowadays the fragment is readily available on DVD. At the time, some critics reacted coldly, believing the film’s subject matter should not be the target of ridicule, and the old Chaplin short was considered funnier anyway. Once again they elaborated on the rather heavy accents of the comedians — «Dick und Dof, Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel, are the two brighter brothers of Pat and Patachon... They speak German themselves.... that American German, like [that] of Buster Keaton, rolling the sounds in the mouth until they resemble broad American slang.» — a notion that the rediscovered footage certainly does not dispel. ollowing Laurel and Hardy’s first feature, the phase of phonetic variants was over, but a package of nine talkie shorts passed censorship for the German market, starting with an abridged version of THE MUSIC BOX with German subtitles.
- Seite 581 und 582: ZAUBERLEHRLINGE, DIE (Ö) A-HAUNTIN
- Seite 583 und 584: XIV. Übersicht über die deutschen
- Seite 585 und 586: KRAGEN UND MANSCHETTEN (TV) COLLARS
- Seite 587 und 588: WENN DIE LÖWEN LACHEN (TV) ROUGHES
- Seite 589 und 590: XV. Übersicht über Laurel und Har
- Seite 591 und 592: The Laurel & Hardy Murder Case Belo
- Seite 593 und 594: Sugar Daddies Zwischen Bestien und
- Seite 595 und 596: The Live Ghost Gespenst an Bord = D
- Seite 597 und 598: With Love and Hisses Käse mit Knob
- Seite 599 und 600: Way Out West Dick und Doof im Wilde
- Seite 601 und 602: Going Bye-Bye! Der große ang = Dic
- Seite 603 und 604: Towed In A Hole Dick und Doof kaufe
- Seite 605 und 606: XVI. Übersicht über die Kinos (mi
- Seite 607 und 608: Lange Leitung Blockheads W.B.T.-Lic
- Seite 609 und 610: Dick und Doof die Schwerenöter Bea
- Seite 611 und 612: Dick und Doof wie immer auf eigene
- Seite 613 und 614: Deutsches Plakat von 2003 zum Kabar
- Seite 615 und 616: WIR SIND VOM SCHOTTISCHEN INFANTERI
- Seite 617 und 618: XVIII. Quiz-Fragen zu Laurel und Ha
- Seite 619 und 620: 13. Was will der Küchenchef in SWI
- Seite 621 und 622: 2. Hier im Bild sehen wir Oliver Ha
- Seite 623 und 624: XIX. Antworten auf die Quiz-ragen A
- Seite 625 und 626: * Als Alles oder nichts ausgestrahl
- Seite 627 und 628: XX. Adressen der deutschen Laurel-u
- Seite 629 und 630: XXI. English Summary or Internation
- Seite 631: The next appearances of the emergin
- Seite 635 und 636: Bluhm was born on August 5, 1907 in
- Seite 637 und 638: Keaton has meanwhile resurfaced (CA
- Seite 639 und 640: In September 1951, the dubbing supe
- Seite 641 und 642: Youngson’s next film, WHEN COMEDY
- Seite 643 und 644: cast, plus the short TIT OR TAT add
- Seite 645 und 646: or the new dub tracks, Walter Bluhm
- Seite 647 und 648: Deutsche Inseratmatern von 1937 fü
- Seite 649 und 650: At any rate, obviously the history
- Seite 651 und 652: singing! As is well-known, the film
- Seite 653 und 654: Cuts were also imposed on Laurel an
- Seite 655 und 656: 900 club members were to expect «a
- Seite 657 und 658: a musical setting as effective as t
- Seite 659 und 660: ATOLL K was followed by another ela
- Seite 661 und 662: team’s American successors into t
- Seite 663 und 664: should relate to the dry nordic sen
- Seite 665 und 666: Kirch also launched the first Laure
- Seite 667 und 668: XXII. English Captions or Illustrat
- Seite 669 und 670: Page 62, top They really were calle
- Seite 671 und 672: Page 122, bottom left Stage setting
- Seite 673 und 674: Page 178 Article in «ilmpost Magaz
- Seite 675 und 676: Page 203, top «Without dressing»
- Seite 677 und 678: Page 241, top German 1951 center sp
- Seite 679 und 680: Page 271 Take 126 to 129 of the Ger
- Seite 681 und 682: Page 300 Bus + rollercoater = plast
Some dialogue modifications were implemented for the foreign versions – Ollie: Did you have an uncle?<br />
Stan: He’s at the University of Berlin. Ollie: As a professor? Stan: No, preserved in a jar soaked in spirit! –a<br />
joke mirrored in the Spanish version by placing Stan’s uncle at the University of Barcelona!<br />
SPUK UM MITTERNACHT successfully played in its opening venue for a full 18 days, easily beating the earlier<br />
ROGUE SONG, and also Danish competitors Pat and Patachon’s latest silent.<br />
ollowing a long search, a slightly incomplete print of the film has since been recovered. Supplemented<br />
with a few sequences from the English and Spanish versions to replace the missing German footage, the<br />
film re-premiered on August 14, 2004 during the Bonner Sommerkino, 73 years after it was first shown. The<br />
original length of the 1931 German release of SPUK UM MITTERNACHT – at four reels, or 1095 metres – does,<br />
however, pose yet another research question. The German SPUK is shorter than the Spanish NOCHE DE DUEN-<br />
DES, but it is known that an Austrian variant of the German-language edition (retitled DREI MILLIONEN DOL-<br />
LAR, or «Three Million Dollars») was released in Vienna during November 1931 at five reels, or 1600 metres,<br />
or in other words at a length similar to its Spanish counterpart. There is the possibility that the overlong<br />
sleeping-berth sequence of NOCHE (which was shot before the German version) was tightened immediately<br />
before SPUK was produced, although this poses the question as to why the final version of NOCHE was not<br />
edited accordingly. Equally possible – and indeed probable, given the availability of a longer German version<br />
in Austria – is that SPUK started life at the same length as NOCHE, but that the German office of MGM decided<br />
to edit their release, whereas the distributors in Austria left their version unaltered.<br />
One of the more intriguing German counterparts of American Laurel and Hardy films is that of HOLLY-<br />
WOOD REVUE O 1929, which was essentially re-made with German artists substituting for some of their American<br />
colleagues as WIR SCHALTEN UM AU HOLLYWOOD. Among the actors taken over from the original release<br />
of the film was Buster Keaton; the German version survives, but Laurel and Hardy do not appear in it. However,<br />
subtitled prints of the English language variant, with the Laurel and Hardy segment included, were<br />
shown in Austria.<br />
The era of phonetic Roach versions soon came to an end – M-G-M had a hard time using the concept<br />
with the likes of Garbo and Gable and preferred the technique to be suspended – but before that was to<br />
happen, Laurel and Hardy had to repeat their linguistic struggles once more, this time in a genuine feature-length<br />
format.<br />
HINTER SCHLOSS UND RIEGEL («Behind Lock and Bolt») was the phonetic German equivalent of PARDON US,<br />
a parody of M-G-M’s prison drama THE BIG HOUSE, which in turn had been reshot with a German cast as MEN-<br />
SCHEN HINTER GITTERN («Men Behind Bars»). Coupled with a vintage Chaplin short (A NIGHT IN THE SHOW,<br />
from 1915), the comedians’ take on the subject premiered on April 23, 1932. Heavily streamlined in its US<br />
version following previews, the expanded foreign versions retained much of what was cut from the domestic<br />
release.<br />
It is reasonable to assume that the German version followed the lines of the expanded Spanish version,<br />
DE BOTE EN BOTE, which has resurfaced and been distributed on TV and video. The complete rench version,<br />
SOUS LES VERROUS – and possibly an additional Italian version called MURAGLIE – remain elusive (which is<br />
especially frustrating in the case of the rench version, since Boris Karloff is seen in one production still<br />
from this variant), and so does most of the German one. However, a precious couple of minutes have been<br />
rediscovered in the form of a Danish (!) trailer, which film historian Peter Mikkelsen obtained in July 1999.<br />
Hearing Laurel and Hardy speak German for the first time (or at least trying) in this footage was an incredible<br />
thrill for German aficionados, and they had a chance without much delay: the rediscovery even made it<br />
into the German television news, clips and all. The TV news reports remained available on the internet for a<br />
while, and nowadays the fragment is readily available on DVD.<br />
At the time, some critics reacted coldly, believing the film’s subject matter should not be the target of<br />
ridicule, and the old Chaplin short was considered funnier anyway. Once again they elaborated on the rather<br />
heavy accents of the comedians — «Dick und Dof, Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel, are the two brighter brothers<br />
of Pat and Patachon... They speak German themselves.... that American German, like [that] of Buster<br />
Keaton, rolling the sounds in the mouth until they resemble broad American slang.» — a notion that the rediscovered<br />
footage certainly does not dispel.<br />
ollowing Laurel and Hardy’s first feature, the phase of phonetic variants was over, but a package of<br />
nine talkie shorts passed censorship for the German market, starting with an abridged version of THE MUSIC<br />
BOX with German subtitles.