Hocuspocus (1953 film)

Hocuspocus (German: Hokuspokus) is a 1953 West German comedy crime film directed by Kurt Hoffmann and starring Curt Goetz, Valerie von Martens (his wife) and Hans Nielsen.[1] Based on Goetz's own play from 1926 and on the first movie of 1930 of which an English-language version was made at the same time, it was remade in 1966 in color as Hocuspocus.

Hocuspocus
Directed byKurt Hoffmann
Written by
Produced byHans Domnick
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byFritz Stapenhorst
Music byFranz Grothe
Production
company
Domnick Filmproduktion
Distributed by
Release date
1 September 1953
Running time
90 minutes
CountryWest Germany
LanguageGerman

It was shot at Göttingen Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art director's Kurt Herlth and Hermann Warm.

Plot

After unsuccessful painter Hilmar Kjerulf has disappeared, interest in his paintings rises, until his soft-spoken widow Agda Kjerulf is accused to have murdered her husband by drowning him in a lake. A mysterious person warns the court president that somebody wants to kill him, and he sends a telegram to his friend and lawyer, Mr. Graham in London, to come for support. The night before the court session that likely will sentence her, a surprise visitor shows up at night and seemingly provides ample evidence that Mr. Graham, knowing about the terms in the testament, has the intention to take advantage of that, having bought a ticket well before he received the telegram. After making his point that things are not always as they may seem, as simple sleight of hand "hocuspocus" tricks and a forged date on a ticket apparently had convinced the judge within minutes that his long-term friend has evil intentions, the visitor declares that he is Peer Bille, a former circus artist and jurist, and that he will defend poor and innocent Mrs. Kjerulf because her lawyer has stepped down.

Cast

References
  1. Elsaesser & Wedel p.201

Bibliography
  • Thomas Elsaesser & Michael Wedel. The BFI companion to German cinema. British Film Institute, 1999.


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