Ce diable de garçon

"Die Feuerzangenbowle" is absolutly one of the Best Movies ever and the Best German Movie at all. In my personal Ranking the "Feuerzangenbowle" is under my TOP 8 Movies. Between "The Life of Brian" it's the funniest Movie. It's made during the II. World War near Berlin. At one Time the British and US-Bomber came and at the other Time this Movie was made. Such a funny Movie in such a Dark Time. In the Beginning the Movie was forbidden by the Nazis but the they need every Laugh for the poor German Humans.

The Cast of this Movie it outstanding in the German History. There are not only Stars, no - but every Character is perfect casted. The leading Man Heinz Rühmann is the Best Actor in the History of German Movies. And here he has his Best Part before his Character-Time from the End of the 50s to the End of the 60s. He played the leading Role in the Oscar nominated Movie "The Captain of Koepenick" and a supporting Role - his only Hollywood Movie (he was too old this Time and don't wanted to leave Germany for longer Time) - Stanley Kramer's "The Ship of Fools". The "Halliwell's" means, he is Great in this Movie. It's truly sad for non-German speaking Persons that they can't see his Movies (you can but at the most important Countries like USA, UK, Canada, France, Japan and Australia are non-English or non-Motherlanguage not often shown and seen)

sorry for my bad English (I learn and try - learning by doing)

That a over 50 year old movie would make students of all faculties pour into the campus theatre year after year is a phenomenon. The secret of this films huge success is the message which hardly anybody is able to miss - that school in spite of all the hard work was fun! Remembering one's own school time will cause an emotional state of well-being, and there you have it!

Aside from these factors, the movie's humor is timeless, the actors were very talented and their characters just wonderfully weird. Many people have seen this movie so often they can speak every line - and with larger audiences, the film is starting to evolve into an interactive experience à la Rocky Horror Picture Show, with the audience shouting at the characters and carrying alarm clocks, candles and flashlights into the theatre to switch on in the exact right moment.

If there is one true German cult movie - this is it!

Ok, so I know this film was designed to distract German audiences from the impending defeat in WWII - escapist propaganda kitsch, no less, as Göring realised at an early screening in Hitler's headquarters. And I know that Heinz Rühmann (who plays the lead role) was a slimy opportunist who led a cushy life under the Nazis. Decent German actors left the country once Hitler took over in 1933 (Marlene Dietrich did, for example, which is why people spat at her in the streets when she returned to post-war Germany). But what the hell, this film works. It works at all levels. The comic timing - Rühmann's as well as that of the other actors - is impeccable; the acting in general is very good, the plot moves quickly, and the gags follow each other nicely. Moreover, there is a sentimental undercurrent, which I can't remember having noticed in contemporary British or American comedies but which goes down very well in Germany. It does so to this day: 'Die Feuerzangenbowle' is a cult movie, especially among students. In short, it is a very good film, up there with the three or four best German comedies ever. Recommended viewing!

Germany was losing the war, its cities were being bombed to smithereens, so it's easy to see why Goebbels felt the need for quality escapist entertainment like this gentle, funny school comedy.

Heinz Ruhmann plays a successful writer who was educated by tutors and never attended school, and who decides to return to his hometown disguised as a pupil to find out what he missed. What ensues is a lot of sweet-natured tomfoolery, with lots of tricks played on the teachers - something which nearly got the film banned because of its supposedly 'anti-authoritarian' tendencies.

There's no real message except that 'schooldays are the best days of your lives', and perhaps that's its secret - for it remains among the most popular of all film comedies in Germany and is cult viewing around Christmas time. Ruhmann is in his element in this film, but particular mention should go to the wonderful Erich Ponto as the eccentric chemistry teacher, who is quite best thing in the film.

A German film from 1944 is suspect. What to expect?

A propaganda movie? There are some reviews who have discovered some elements of Nazi ideology deep down in the movie, but in general I would not call this a propaganda movie.

A comedy? That makes more sense! The war wasn't going very well for Germany at this point in time and the public public could use some entertainment to forget for a moment their everyday misery. The lead actor Heinz Ruhmann was an established comedy star in Germany from 1930 onwards.

The best characterization of the movie however is given by words like nostalgia ("sehnsucht" in German) and melancholy. Das dritte Reich has lost its glamour and the film longs for times gone by (the good old days). This is true for the main character (he longs back to his high school days) and for the film in total (it is situated around 1900).

The teachers ("Herr Professor" in German) are excentric and rather naive. There is no femme fatale in the movie, but one can imagine that they would have ended just like Professor Rath in "Der Blaue Engel" (1930, Josef von Sternberg) had there been one. For a moment the Nazi regime kept the drollery of the students for rebellion against the authority of the teachers and didn't give permission for the release of the film. It took a visit from Ruhmann to propaganda minister Goebbels to change his mind. One only has to compare "Die Feuerzangenbowle" with "Zero de conduite" (1933, Jean Vigo) to understand how exagerrated the fear of the Nazi regime was.