The Captain from Köpenick (1931 film)

The Captain from Köpenick
Directed by	Richard Oswald
Written by	Albrecht Joseph Carl Zuckmayer (also play)
Produced by	Gabriel Pascal
Starring	Max Adalbert Paul Wagner Paul Otto
Cinematography	Ewald Daub
Edited by	Max Brenner
Production company	Roto Film
Distributed by	Süd-Film
Release date	22 December 1931
Running time	107 minutes
Country	Germany
Language	German

The Captain from Köpenick (German: Der Hauptmann von Köpenick) is a 1931 German comedy film directed by Richard Oswald and produced by Gabriel Pascal. It is one of several films based on the 1931 play by the same name written by Carl Zuckmayer. The story centers on the Hauptmann von Köpenick affair in 1906.

It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin and on location in Köpenick. The film's sets were designed by the art director Franz Schroedter.

Plot

Der Hauptmann von Köpenick is based on a true story that took place in Germany in 1906. A poor cobbler named Wilhelm Voigt purchased the second-hand uniform of a Prussian infantry captain. Wearing this, he travelled to the borough of Köpenick and ordered a troop of guardsmen to place themselves under his command. He then declared the town hall to be under military law, ordering the arrest of the mayor and treasurer and confiscating all the funds in the exchequer. In this film version it's a considerable sum of 4,000 reichsmarks. Voigt's orders were obeyed without question and he temporarily got away with the caper, although he was eventually caught.

Cast

• Max Adalbert as Wilhelm Voigt
• Ernst Dernburg as Entlassungsbeamter
• Willi Schur as Kalle
• Paul Wagner as Hauptmann von Schlettow
• Hermann Vallentin as Schneider Adolph Wormser
• Emil Wabschke as Wabschke
• Peter Wolff as Willy, Wormsers Sohn
• Fritz Beckmann as Schustermeister
• Arthur Mainzer as Prokurist Knell
• Heinrich Marlow as Revierkommissar
• Heinz Sarnow as Dr. Jellinek
• Edith Karin as Ploeroesenmieze
• Gerhard Bienert as Gardegrenadier
• Viktor Franz as Alterer Zivilist
• Henry Pleß as Schutzmann, Cafe National
• Oskar Höcker as Schutzmann, Revier
• Paul Marx as Richter
• Albert Florath as Aufseher
• Manfred Hille as Bursche bei Hptm. von Schlettow
• Max Gülstorff as Buergermeister Dr. Obermueller
• Hans Halder as Zuchthausdirektor
• Ilse Fürstenberg as Marie Hoprecht
• Friedrich Kayßler as Friedrich Hoprecht
• Käthe Haack as Mathilde Obermueller
• Martha Ziegler as Fanny, Mädchen bei Obermüllers
• Leonard Steckel as Krakauer, ein Trödler
• Hans Wassmann as Ein Bahnbeamter
• Eugen Rex as Zweiter Bahnbeamter
• Kurt Lüpke as Ein Gefreiter
• Erich Gomlicski as Ein Grenadier der Wache
• Ernst Karchow as Passagier im Nichtraucherabteil
• Hermann Speelmans as Wachtmeister Killian
• Paul Rehkopf as Ein Landwirt
• Ernst Wurmser as Polizei-Inspektor
• Fritz Odemar as Stadtkämmerer Rosenkrantz
• Rudolf Blümner as Stadtrendant
• Fred Goebel as Leutnant der Neuen Wache
• Paul Otto as Oberst
• Hans Leibelt as Mann der Litfassäule
• Alfred Beierle as Paß-Kommissar
• Heinrich Schroth as Polizeipräsident
• Hermann Wlach as Entlassungsbeamter

See also

• Wilhelm Voigt
• Der Hauptmann von Köpenick (disambiguation)

Bibliography

• Eric Rentschler. German Film and Literature. Routledge, 2013.

External links

• Der Hauptmann von Köpenick at IMDb
• The film on dvd