The Happy Years of the Thorwalds

The Happy Years of the Thorwalds
Directed by	Wolfgang Staudte John Olden
Written by	J.B. Priestley (play) Answald Krüger Maria Matray Christian Schürhoff
Produced by	Werner Ludwig Alexander Rakosi
Starring	Elisabeth Bergner Hansjörg Felmy Dietmar Schönherr
Cinematography	Siegfried Hold
Edited by	Alice Ludwig
Music by	Siegfried Franz
Production company	Allgemeine Film
Distributed by	Europa-Filmverleih
Release date	16 November 1962
Running time	88 minutes
Country	West Germany
Language	German

The Happy Years of the Thorwalds (German: Die glücklichen Jahre der Thorwalds) is a 1962 West German drama film directed by Wolfgang Staudte and John Olden, starring Elisabeth Bergner, Hansjörg Felmy and Dietmar Schönherr. It is based on J.B. Priestley's 1937 play Time and the Conways, with the setting is shifted from Britain to Germany. It portrays two family gatherings - the first in 1913 during the German Empire before the First World War and the second in 1932 in the dying days of the Weimar Republic before the Nazi takeover.

It was shot at the Wandsbek Studios in Hamburg and on location in the city. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Mathias Matthies and Ellen Schmidt.

Cast

• Elisabeth Bergner as Frau Thorwald
• Hansjörg Felmy as Peter Thorwald
• Dietmar Schönherr as Martin Thorwald
• Brigitte Grothum as Helga Thorwald
• Elfriede Irrall as Erika Thorwald
• Johanna Matz as Maria Thorwald
• Wega Jahnke as Kathrin Thorwald
• Loni von Friedl as Brigitte von Tienitz
• Robert Graf as Ernst Bieber
• Dieter Borsche as Dr. Schaub
• Walter Grüters
• Walter Klam
• Günther Schramm
• Liselotte Willführ

Bibliography

• Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

• The Happy Years of the Thorwalds at IMDb