Emil and the Detectives (1931 film)
| Emil and the Detectives | |
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Film poster
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| Directed by | Gerhard Lamprecht |
| Produced by | Günther Stapenhorst |
| Written by |
Billy Wilder, Erich Kästner, Emeric Pressburger |
| Starring |
Rolf Wenkhaus, Fritz Rasp |
| Music by | Allan Gray |
| Cinematography | Werner Brandes |
| Distributed by | UFA |
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Release date
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Running time
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75 minutes |
| Country | Weimar Republic |
| Language | German |
Emil and the Detectives (German: Emil und die Detektive) is a 1931 German adventure film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Rolf Wenkhaus. It is based on the 1929 novel by Erich Kästner, who also contributed to the film's script. The film script was written by Billy Wilder. Until today, this film is generally considered to be the best film adaption of Emil and the Detectives.
Germany during the Weimar Republic: The film begins in the small town of Neustadt, a provincial German town which is the home to young schoolboy Emil Tischbein. His father is dead and his mother raises him alone working as a hairdresser. She sends Emil to Berlin with 140 marks (a hairdresser's monthly salary then) to give to his grandmother who lives in Berlin with his cousin, the girl Pony Hütchen. He also gets 20 marks for himself. On the way he is very careful not to lose the money and uses a needle to pin it to the lining of his jacket. On the train to Berlin, Emil meets a mysterious passenger who introduces himself as Herr Grundeis. This man gives Emil drugged chocolate and Emil falls asleep. When he wakes up, the money and Herr Grundeis are gone. He spots Herr Grundeis and follows him. Emil dares not call the police, because he made a joke with a local monument, so he feels that he is "a kind of criminal" himself. However, he meets a Berlin boy named Gustav. Gustav tries to help him and assembles local children who call themselves "the detectives".
After following Grundeis to a hotel and spying on him all night, Emil and the gang follow the thief to the bank. Emil gets his money back when Herr Grundeis tries to exchange the money. Emil proves that the money was his by describing the holes left by the needle he used to pin the bills in the lining of his jacket. Herr Grundeis tries to run away, but Emil's new friends cling onto him until a police officer arrives. Once arrested, Herr Grundeis is found out to be a notorious bank robber. Emil receives a reward of 1000 marks for capturing Herr Grundeis. In the last scene, a plane takes Emil back to Neustaat where he is greeted as a local hero.
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