Heart of Stone (1950 film)
{{Short description|1950 film}}
{{use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{For|the silent film|Heart of Stone (1924 film)}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Heart of Stone
| image =
| caption =
| director = Paul Verhoeven
| producer =
| writer = Wilhelm Hauff
| starring = Lutz Moik
| music = Herbert Trantow
| cinematography = {{ubl|{{ill|Ernst Kunstmann|de}}|Bruno Mondi}}
| editing = Lena Neumann
| distributor = DEFA
| released = {{film date|1950|12|8|df=y}}
| runtime = 106 minutes
| country = East Germany
| language = German
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Heart of Stone ({{langx|de|Das kalte Herz}}) is an East German fantasy film directed by Paul Verhoeven. The first East German film made in Agfacolor, it was released in 1950. The film is based on the fairy tale of the same name originally published by Wilhelm Hauff in 1826.
Plot
Peter, a woodsman and his mother live in the Black Forest where he makes a living selling charcoal. Stung by the ridicule of the wealthier inhabitants of the village and desiring to marry the beautiful Lisbeth, he sees his only chance for prosperity in appealing to a good forest spirit, the small Glasmännlein, who grants him two wishes at first, then a third wish later. Peter wishes for wealth that he purchases a glassworks but due to his inexperience the glassworks fails and he gambles his money away.
Unable to marry Lisbeth due to his being pursued by creditors, Peter locates a dark forest spirit, Holländer-Michel, to make more wishes for wealth. Holländer-Michel agrees to grant him wealth, but only in exchange for his heart that Holländer-Michel replaces with one made of stone. Holländer-Michel shows that the wealthier inhabitants of the village already have done so and shows Peter their hearts that he displays on the wall. Peter agrees and becomes a ruthlessly successful businessman but at the cost of Lisbeth and his happiness.
Cast
{{cast listing|
- Lutz Moik as Peter Munk
- Hanna Rucker as Lisbeth
- Paul Bildt as Glasmännlein
- Erwin Geschonneck as Holländer-Michel
- Paul Esser as Ezechiel
- {{ill|Lotte Loebinger|de}} as Peter Munk's Mutter
- Alexander Engel as Lisbeths Oheim
- Hannsgeorg Laubenthal as Hannes
- Karl Hellmer as Meister Anton
- {{ill|Walter Tarrach|de}} as Amtmann
- Eva Probst as Bärbel
- Herbert Kiper as Hochzeitslader
- {{ill|Karl Heinz Deickert|de}} as Elias
}}
Reception
The film is one of the most successful DEFA pictures of all time, and sold 9,779,526 tickets in East Germany.[http://www.insidekino.de/DJahr/DDRAlltimeDeutsch.htm List of the 50 highest-grossing DEFA films.]
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0042627|title=Heart of Stone}}
Category:1950s children's fantasy films
Category:German children's fantasy films
Category:1950s German-language films
Category:Films directed by Paul Verhoeven (Germany)
Category:Films based on works by Wilhelm Hauff
Category:Films based on German short stories
Category:Films set in the 18th century
Category:Films about wish fulfillment
Category:Films set in the Black Forest
Category:Films_based_on_fairy_tales
Category:Films about businesspeople
Category:Films scored by Herbert Trantow
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