Blindekuh (film) explained

Director:	Ernst Lubitsch
Country:	Germany
Language:	Silent

Blindekuh (English: Blind man's mane) is a 1915 German silent comedy film by Ernst Lubitsch. The one-act comedy is one of the director's lost works.

Plot

A woman desperately wants to prevent her daughter from marrying a man she doesn't like. To this end, she gets engaged to her daughter's boyfriend. However, she is outsmarted by the couple, who eventually find a way to be together.

Production

This film was Lubitsch's first directorial work from 1914, but it did not premiere until 1915.^[1]  The buildings in the film were designed by Kurt Richter. The censors banned Blindekuh for young people in May 1915. The premiere took place on May 28, 1915, at UT Nollendorfplatz, UT Friedrichstraße, UT Kurfürstendamm and UT Alexanderplatz in Berlin.

Criticism

The critics praised Lubitsch's "often proven grotesque acting"^[2] and wrote that the film "became very funny thanks to Lubitsch's art".  At the same time, however, the film was called “a bit drawn out”, adding that "less would have been more here.”^[3]

Notes and References

1. Thüna . Ulrich V. . September 1991 . Helga Belach / Wolfgang Jacobsen (Redaktion): Kalter Krieg — 60 Filme aus Ost und West. — Berlin: Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek 1991 (= 41. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin, Retrospektive), 312 Seiten mit Abb. Frank Arnold / Gerhard Midding (Redaktion): Hommage für einen Star — Jane Russell; Gerhard Midding / Frank Arnold (Redaktion): Hommage für einen Star — Robert Mitchum. — Berlin: Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek 1991 (= 41. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin, Retrospektive), 55 Seiten mit Abb.; 57 Seiten mit Abb. . Publizistik . 36 . 3 . 402 . 10.1007/bf03653476 . 0033-4006.
2. Book: Müller . Corinna . Die Modellierung des Kinofilms: zur Geschichte des Kinoprogramms zwischen Kurzfilm und Langfilm, 1905/06-1918 . Segeberg . Harro . 1998 . W. Fink . 978-3-7705-3244-5 . Mediengeschichte des Films . München.
3. Mess . C.E.K. . November 1915 . Artificial illuminants for use in practical photography-cinematograph work . Journal of the Franklin Institute . 180 . 5 . 622 . 10.1016/s0016-0032(15)90550-1 . 0016-0032.