Die Dreigroschenoper

Epic musical theater with Hildegard Knef and Curd Jürgens

On February 8th, 1963 the time had come: the German-French film adaptation of the DREIGROSCHENOPER / THREEPENNY OPERA by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill premiered in the GLORIA-Palast in Munich. Directed by Wolfgang Staudte and produced by Kurt Ulrich, the film was shot in the Berlin-Tempelhof studio with a huge cast of stars. The plot is largely taken from the play, the music was adapted somewhat to contemporary tastes with a larger orchestra.

The plot about the criminal Mackie Messer (Curd Jürgens), who is up to mischief in London at the turn of the century, can be assumed to be familiar. The cast is more interesting anyway. Lino Ventura plays the police chief Brown, June Ritchie can be seen as Mackie's bride Polly Peachum, whose parents are played by Hilde Hildebrand (Große Freiheit No. 7) and Gert Fröbe (GOLDFINGER!). Walter Giller, Siegfried Wischnewski and Erna Haffner appear in smaller roles. A casting coup from Hollywood is at the start as the moral singer: Sammy Davis Jr. Sings Brecht and Weill as if he had never done anything else.

And then Hildegard Knef (Decision Before Dawn)! Stepped in for Giulietta Masina, who was actually supposed to shoot her third film for Kurt Ulrich. Of course, Hilde was a better fit! Of course she sings the song about the dive bar Jenny and the pimp ballad together with Curd Jürgens (The Spy Who Loved Me). You simply have to see and hear this!

563,000 tickets were sold in the West German box office. It couldn't have been because of the star line-up. The lack of popularity was more likely due to the fact that the image quality and coloring could no longer meet the standards of "Der Schatz im Silbersee / Treasure in the Silver Lake" (1962). But the film is definitely worth seeing, not just for educated people and theater goers!

This movie is the classic story of Mack the Knife. The version I saw was in the original German, and subtitled in English. It was filmed as a barb towards Nazi Germany, however, since anti-Gov't were forbidden the film takes places in London England. Our Hero, is a Thief. The Head of the Thieves guild. He and his crownies continually steal from the One bank in town. Mackie, likes to visit the Women of Ill Repute and they all know him, and the cops are all bought so they can't touch him. He has intentions of Marrying the Daughter of the King of the Beggars guild, and all is going well. Until the Police chief gets aspirations of Arresting Mackie, and the bank they rob goes bankrupt. Fortunately Mackie has enough money to buy the defunct bank and his crownies can become the Tellers. This is an excellent old film, and I recommend it to anyone.

I've seen several stagings of this musical play-- even acted in it once in college-- and I have enjoyed the liveliness of every staging. The movie, however, is quite dead. The characters are stilted and almost everything is presented in a dry and detached manner-- so detached that the viewer can't really appreciate the important ironies of the plot even while being hit over the head with them. I also felt that the camera work was very uninspired. This film is still worth seeing just because "Die Dreigroschenoper" is an excellent play; but, if you have a choice, I'd recommend that you go see it performed as a play.

It broke my heart to watch The Three Penny Opera. I always thought the great German actor Curd Jurgens should have played Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music; in this (yes, lousy) musical, audiences could hear the proof that he could have held his own against Julie Andrews.

Sammy Davis Jr. Starts the show singing an unusual rendition of "Mack the Knife", which most people don't know was actually written in 1928 for this musical. Then we delve into the story, of head criminal Curd seducing the beggar king's daughter while trying to outrun the law. It's a melodramatic story that calls for hammy acting, but audiences should be expecting that when they watch an opera. Curd gets to puff himself up and indulge in every ounce of sex appeal as countless women in the movie fall at his feet. In one scene, while his bride laments the great danger he's in and the long list of crimes he's accused of, he merely smirks and nonchalantly unlaces her blouse.

Yes, the direction is odd, the production values are terrible, and the only copy available to watch now is in bad condition. But I couldn't bear to turn it off, not with Captain Von Trapp playing the king of the thieves, Mack the Knife. The 1989 remake (with Raoul Julia and Richard Harris) is infinitely better. The only reason to sit through this one is if you're a die-hard Curd Jurgens fan, like I am. Sammy Davis Jr. Continues to intersplice the movie with his fourth-wall narration, but it's unnecessary and silly. Plus, since this is a German flick dubbed in English, the supporting characters are really lousy actors.

I purchased this film video on Amazon from a market trader as it was the only version of The Threepenny Opera available in English at the time. The quality looks like a typical fifties TV video, blurred and indistinct with poor contrast and definition. The colour also seems more like a 'colorized' version of a b&w print (perhaps my copy is!) not true 'technicolor'. Of the performances I agree with the previous reviewer it is cobbled together with Sammy Davis seemingly tacked on. Many of the songs are missing and the Englisj translation is not really as authentic as you might wish. It is better to go for the original German version from the 1930s (with its French equivalent on the other side of the disc). That gives you a quality b&w film beautifully restored with very good acting and singing. If a decent copy of this 1962 version, fully restored appears it might be worth obtaining as a reference point and a curiosity. Unless you want a curio save your money and wait for a decent English-language version to appear.