THE WILDCAT
(DIE BERGKATZE/DZIKA KOTKA)



1921, 82'. Silent with English intertitles.

DIRECTION:
Ernst Lubitsch
SCRIPT:
Hans Kraly and Ernst Lubitsch
CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Theodore Sparkuhl
PRODUCTION DESIGN:
Ernst Stern, Max Gronau
COSTUMES:
Ernst Stern
PRODUCER:
Paul Davidson
PRODUCED BY:
AG Union (PAGU, later UFA)

Cast: Pola Negri (Rischka), Victor Janson (Kommandant der Festung Tossenstein), Paul Heidemann (Lieutenant Alexis)

Rischka is wild daughter of a bandid chief of a band of nomadic robbers who inhabit the mountains in the region called Piffaneiro. They are also the main nemesis of Kommandant der Festung Tossenstein, the stuffy post commander, who in reality, takes orders from both his wife and daughter. Word comes down from the higher authorities that Lieutenant Alexis is being transferred to the mountain post as punishment for being too much of a ladies man. Upon arrival, the handsome lieutenant spots beautiful Rischka along the roadside. When the commander sends Alexis to lead a force against the mountain bandits, he again encounters Rischka - and she counters with a barrage of snowballs! The whimsical story is fueled by hilarious sequences throughout that lead to the witty finale.

The film often ranks among the funniest movies ever made. It may be as well Negri's best and funniest film. It was Lubitsch's favorite picture which he made while he was still an emerging filmmaker in his native Germany. The film not only looks ahead of his later comedies, but can also be seen as an ancestor to Monty Python, a parody of Expressionism and of the German military. In Germany the work was a financial failure, since audiences didn't have enough of sense of humor to get their beloved military poked fun of.

Wednesday , November 14, 2007 at 8:00 pm. (PORTAGE THEATRE)