Let's have "a Date with Fate"!!

Every month in a certain cinema in Hanover, Germany they are showing a "special" film in a series called "Filmcafé" (you don't need a translation - do you?). For they changed the dates to Wednesdays I now am able to attend this series. (yay!!) - Today I will take you with me - but please be aware that it will cost you some time! This post turned out to be another epic.. - so please take a few days off and come with me to watch today:

CASABLANCA (1942)

So, here we are.  - And here.. ..is..  ..your ticket:

~ don't worry - I have one for everyone of you.. ~

oh.. and: with the cinema ticket comes a coupon for a cup of coffee and a piece of cake.. 

At one wall two young men are "hosting" kind of a buffett with plates of cake and two thermos jugs of coffee.. (not very classy.. but kind of cute..) give them your coupon to get a little snack..

About the cake - in case you have a sweet tooth:

It's just some (old-fashioned but apparently freshly baken) German classic cake: "Bienenstich" (Bee-Sting [-Cake]).. (-> here's one recipe - I am not sooo terribly fond of it.. but maybe you'd like to give it a try..) 

Oh - but now: Hurry! The film is going to begin in an instance!!

Wait! Who's that standing in front of the screen? Oh, one of this cinema's top brass - with a co-worker (a very well-known person from [actually excisting] Hannover cinema scene!) They greet us - explain how "Filmcafé" works and that CASABLANCA wasn't meant to be the film for today at first - but due to changed copyrights for the New Year the planned movie 

RAGING BULL (1980) can't be shown.. 

(okay with me.. I would like to see that one, too one day - but: Hey! CASABLANCA!!!)

Now they ask us to vote by showing of hands for next month's film:

MOONSTRUCK (1987)

or

THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1981)

I haven't seen either of those two films - and I think I won't watch them in cinema.. Just by the way: THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE won..

Now the two gentlemen are playing a little quiz with the audience - answer the questions right and you get a DVD, a Blu-ray Disc and/or some coupons..

Two of the questions:

1. When November 3, 1956 the first comercials were aired in German Telly - which product was the first to be advertised?

Answer: Washing agent PERSIL

2. In which year did "DIE AUSGBURGER PUPPENKISTE" (the here quite famous Augsburg Puppet Theatre) air one of their plays for the first time in German Telly?

Answer: January 21,1953 - it was Sergei Prokofiev's PETER AND THE WOLF. They broadcasted live because there wasn't any videotaping in German Telly yet..

(I borrowed this picture from the page of Augsburger Puppenkiste - sadly the page is just in German.. 

I could write a whole series just about those puppet plays.. 

They are sooo great and imaginative!)

And now: Dim the lights! Let's watch CASABLANCA!!

No - wait! What's that?!

A German newsreal - from the mid to late 60's (1967??) is now on the screen! Oh my!

Frankly - in the beginning I didn't notice that the little film clip that was shown first was meant ironic. It showed people shopping and working and such. Then an off camera voice saying:

"Don't start about development aid with me! I really don't see why those politician are blowing all our money to those Negroes.. When I die I hope to be reborn as a negro! I won't have to work and will get money from all people.. I say we'll should use it for German economy! Export and stuff like that.. What?!? "That's what development aid means?"  ... 

Honestly: In the first moment yours Irene was like "What the heck is going on here??! Did this guy really say what I think he did??" So after we live through this little shock (for me it was..) the next clip is shown:

Ah.. something "for lads".. Sports.. (usually in German news and newsreels sports has the comparatively biggest part..) - but wait: Don't start chatting, ladies and uninterested-in-sports-gents! This one is fun: It shows clippings from a rugby game between France and New Zealand - but it is made up like a ballett! Classic music is playing while those guys on the screen try to beat each other up and catch the ball..

Music like Rossini's WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE

Well.. you can imagine how it looked, can't you? We all saw things like that in several films.. But still it's fun.

Last clipping - German pop singer Pat Simon is singing about how she fell in love in a taxi.. Guy who she is adressing sports one of those impressive Omar Sharif moustaches.. like my daddy once did.. have to call him soon again..

And now? CASABLANCA?? ..?  please? .. pretty please???

No.. of course not! First we will watch two movie trailers!

First one for a German drama:

...UND FÜHRE UNS NICHT IN VERSUCHUNG (1957)

(English title: AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION)

It's based on Ödön von Horvath's play DER JÜNGSTE TAG (JUDGEMENT DAY):

- with Austrian heartthrob Gerhard Riedmann (not yours Irene's type.. too schmaltzy..) and lovely Johanna Matz

They fall in love with eachother - though he is married to possessive Heidemarie Hatheyer ...

(LOVE her.. great, great Austrian actress with a wonderful smoky voice..)

... 

The second trailer is for 

WHO WAS THAT LADY ? (1960)

So great to see a bit of Dean Martin and Janet Leigh on big screen!! Now I want to re-watch that film..

But no! Finally!! There it is

CASABLANCA!!

I won't tell you about the film now - there is so much said about it.. maybe some other time.. 

Frankly, I decided to write about CASABLANCA before I was sure which topic to choose for this month - amazingly CASABLANCA fits in almost every topic I thought of before! I am thinking about doing kind of a monthly "CASABLANCA-factor" post - sharing one scene or a piece of information matching the month's topic..  

And for I wrote so much now - I guess you are a bit tired.. so please come back to read my little text about how CASABLANCA fits into my On the Run series.. Quite obvious.. I know.. but I want to share one of my favourite scenes from this film with you - so: please return to this corner of blogland for the first issue of

 "The CASABLANCA factor"..

Thank you very much for this lovely afternoon in cinema and all the time you spent reading this post!

Yours

Irene