Kameradschaft (1931)

Director:

Georg Wilhelm Pabst

Writers:

Peter Martin Lampel (writer)
Karl Otten (writer)

Release Date:

17 November 1931 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Plea against war and for friendship between peoples, through the story of french miners rescued by german colleagues after a firedamp explosion.

Plot Keywords:

Border | Rescue | Explosion | Fire | WWI

Cast

Alexander Granach	...	Kasper
Fritz Kampers	...	Wilderer
Ernst Busch	...	Wittkopp
Elisabeth Wendt	...	Frau Wittkopp
Gustav Püttjer	...	Kaplan
Oskar Höcker	...	Obersteiger
Daniel Mendaille	...	Jean Leclerc
Georges Charlia	...	Emile
Andrée Ducret	...	Françoise
Alex Bernard	...	Grand-père, le vieux mineur
Pierre-Louis	...	Georges - le petit galibot
Héléna Manson	...	Rose, la femme du mineur blessé
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gerhard Bienert
Marguerite Debois
Adolf Fischer
Friedrich Gnaß
Georg Guertler
Willem Holsboer	...	Ingenieur des deutschen Bergwerks
Marcel Lesieur	...	Albert
Palmyre Levasseur
Marcel Merminod
Teddy Michaud
Naupel
Reinhardt
Rortais
Franz Schier
Théo Tony
Georges Tourreil	...	L'ingénieur
Richard Weichert
Fritz Wendhausen	...	Direktor des deutschen Bergwerks

Also Known As:

Comradeship
Grubentragödie (Germany) (working title)
Kameradschaft Sohle VI (Germany) (working title)
La tragédie de la mine (France)

Runtime:

93 min | USA:86 min (Janus print)

Country:

Germany | France

Language:

French | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Tobis-Klangfilm)

Certification:

USA:TV-14 (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Company:

Nero-Film AG

Trivia:

The movie was filmed in the narrow transitional sound ratio of 1.20-1, but, at least in the case of the Janus video release telecast on Turner Classic Movies, has been converted to the standard 1.37-1 ratio with the result that the players' heads are cut off either partially or completely in many of the key scenes. In the final sequence, the heads of the speakers are completely cut off.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood" (1995)

Masterpiece of Work in 1931

The name of this film alone made me want to see just what it was all about, so I taped this film during the early hours of the AM. If you ever wanted to see what miners had to go through during the early days and actually see a dramatic scene when the mine crumbles in on the men. This film clearly wants to show that Germany and France can work together and be friends after WW I and how the Germans came to the aid of the French miners much to the unbelief of the French townsfolk. The actors were all outstanding, with unusual scenes in the mine with a horse and a small young boy who worked in the mine. There is an old old retired miner who manges to go down the mine by ladder when the elevator breaks down. If you are a real film buff, this is a film you will not want to miss.