The Bartered Bride
Bohemia in the 19th century, stage-coach driver Hans loves the mayor's daughter Marie, but she is promised Wenzel, the son of another wealthy farmer. Marie refuses to marry Wenzel because of Hans, but the marriage arranger tries to "buy" Marie from Hans. But when Wenzel tells Hans that he doesn't want to marry Marie either because he loves circus director Brummel's daughter, Hans decides to accept the offer of money for not interfering in the relations of Hans and Marie. But when Marie hears about this, she doesn't want to see Hans again.
From the archive
An adaptation of Bedřich Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride. Set in 19th century Bohemia, the matchmaker Kezal wants to bring the mayor's daughter Marie and the rich landowner's son Wenzel together. Both of them, however, have already fallen in love with someone else. The endearing characters, a whimsical storyline and quiet humor combine with catchy tunes, a pastoral setting and fluid camera work. A last hurrah in the wanning days of Weimar cinema, by non-other than Max Ophüls. One of the early cinematic works of the prolific director, which he made a year before fleeing Germany after the Reichstagbrand. It probably provided a welcome distraction for German moviegoers during those turbulant times.
Why this is free to watch
The Bartered Bride (1932) is hosted by the Internet Archive as a public-domain or openly licensed work, which means its copyright has expired, lapsed, or was released by the rights holder. The uploader declared an explicit licence, linked in the source panel. Nitrate streams the file directly from the Internet Archive and hosts no video itself.
- Director
- Max Ophüls
- Starring
- Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender, Jarmila Novotná, Max Nadler, Maria Janowska, Otto Wernicke, Paul Kemp, Karl Valentin, Liesl Karlstadt
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