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Käuzchenkuhle

Director: Walter Beck, 78 Min., Black-White, Feature Film
Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR)
DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme, 1968

Film/Video Format
35 mm
Length in m
2155
English Title
The Owl´s Hole
Premiere Date
Release Date (for Cinema)
Literary Source
Beseler, Horst: "Käuzchenkuhle", Roman
Film poster for "Käuzchenkuhle"

(Dir.: Walter Beck, 1968) Graphic Design: Helga Grützner

Short Summary (English)

Actually his name is Jean-Paul. However; because his friends don't speak French, they have simply renamed him "Jampoll". As he does every year; Jampoll - this bright and quick-witted boy - spends his summer vacation visiting his grandparents in their Mecklenburg village.

But this time something is different. Jampoll is a keen observer and therefore notices that his grandfather; Kalmus, appears to be distressed, low-spirited and downright fearful of something: he often disappears into his little room, writes something in a notebook or nervously wanders about clutching a cap of fox fur.

The children in the village, Jampoll's friends, know who the cap belonged to - namely, the deaf-mute Gotthold, who drowned in the Owl's Hole. The Owl's Hole has a bad reputation in the village. It is haunted, the people whisper. Jampoll does not necessarily believe this, but nonetheless something is not quite kosher about this uncanny place. Apparently the Owl's Hole has something to do with Kohlweis, a man who has been working at the saw mill for some time. After a serious argument with Jampoll's grandfather, Kohlweis hits the old man to the ground. Jampoll learns that Kohlweis is guilty of a crime his grandfather knows about...

 

Source: Progress Film-Verleih

Film still for "Käuzchenkuhle"

(Dir.: Walter Beck, 1968) Photography: Jörg Erkens, Dieter Lück, Klaus Mühlstein

Film still for "Käuzchenkuhle"

(Dir.: Walter Beck, 1968) Photography: Jörg Erkens, Dieter Lück, Klaus Mühlstein

Film Crew

Director
  • Walter Beck
Script
  • Günter Kaltofen
  • Walter Beck
Camera
  • Lothar Gerber
Film Editing
  • Brigitte Krex
Cast
  • Rainer Haupt (Jampoll)
  • Annette Böttche (Linde)
  • Jürgen Schoberth (Schraube)
  • Peter Brock (Kristian)
  • Martin Flörchinger (Großvater Kalmus)
  • Dieter Wien (Kohlweis)
  • Manfred Krug (Hauptmann)
  • Peter Pollatschek (Abschnittsbevollmächtigter (ABV))
  • Regina Beyer (Hilde)
  • Thomas Langhoff (Zweiter)
  • Nico Turoff (Gotthold)
  • Gertrud Brendler (Großmutter Kalmus)
  • Berko Acker (Lieberich)
  • Vera Oelschlegel (Aufsicht auf Bahnhof)
  • Evamaria Heyse (Briefträgerin Helmchen)
  • Jürgen Marten (Polizist)
Assistant Director
  • Gerda Eggers-Ebert
Assistant Camera
  • Dieter Lück
  • Jörg Erkens
  • Klaus Mühlstein
Production Design
  • Erich Krüllke
  • Werner Pieske
Script Editing
  • Margot Beichler
  • Gudrun Deubener (geb. Rammler)
Music
  • Klaus Lenz
  • Manfred Krug (Ferienlied)
Sound
  • Klaus Wolter
  • Gerhard Ribbeck
Costume Design
  • Inge Kistner
Make-Up
  • Klaus Grobbecker
  • Anita Hering
Production Management
  • Siegfried Kabitzke
Unit Production Management
  • Günter Berger
  • Werner Pfeifer
DEFA Photography
  • Dieter Lück
  • Jörg Erkens
  • Klaus Mühlstein
Dubbing (Dubbing Actor)
  • Bernd Lehmann (Jampoll)

Short Summary (German)

Als der kleine Jampoll wie jedes Jahr in den Ferien zum Großvater aufs Land kommt, findet er diesen verändert: Er ist schweigsam, schließt sich in seine Kammer ein und schreibt etwas auf. Jampoll und seine Freunde wissen, dass dieses Verhalten mit Kohlweis, einem Fremden, der seit kurzem hier lebt, zu tun hat. Die Kinder beobachten Kohlweis und kommen langsam hinter dessen Geheimnis. Gegen Ende des Krieges hatte er als SS-Offizier einen Behälter im Mummelsee versenkt. Der Großvater aber lagerte dieses Behältnis, gemeinsam mit dem stummen Gotthold, in die Käuzchenkuhle um. Gotthold ertrank dabei, was das Gewissen des Großvaters seit damals stark belastet und der Grund für sein jetziges Schweigen ist. Die Kinder informieren den ABV. Sie stellen Kohlweis eine Falle. Als der mit einem Kumpan den Behälter heben will, in dem sich geraubte Kunstschätze befinden, ist die Polizei zur Stelle.

(Quelle: Das zweite Leben der Filmstadt Babelsberg. DEFA-Spielfilme 1946-1992)

Short Summary (Other Languages)

Come tutte le estati, Jampoll trascorre le vacanze in campagna da suo nonno, che quest'anno si rivela particolarmente taciturno e solitario. Con l'aiuto degli amici, Jampoll capisce che è colpa di Kohlweis, uno uomo trasferitosi da poco in quella zona. Verso la fine della guerra, infatti, Kohlweis, al tempo ufficiale delle SS, aveva affondato un tesoro nel Mummelsee. Con l'aiuto del muto Gotthold, il nonno aveva trasferito il tesoro in un altro luogo, ma nell’impresa Gotthold aveva perso la vita. I bambini, oltre a informare la polizia, attirano Kohlweis in una trappola. Quando, con un compare, viene a reclamare il suo tesoro fatto di opere d'arte trafugate, la polizia è pronta ad arrestarlo. (Italienisch)

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