samwoodsonblog

[samwoodsonblog]

🍂🎻 Strauss evokes in me associations with a bright golden, fiery color. because his music is soft and warm, like a fire in a fireplace; and he himself is as bright, energetic and groovy as a famously dancing flame. have you ever seen sketches where Schani is in motion?? it's a purrre flame!!! 🔥🍁

can we say that the flames are dancing the eternal Strauss waltz? 💃🏼

is it possible to say that he also needed invigorating coffee, as a fire needs dry logs? ☕️

or that his energy is so frenzied simply because he is a fire that cannot be extinguished? 🔥

maybe that's why he has a golden monument instead of the usual one? 🎻

anyway, Strauss was born in the heart of the golden autumn. 🍁

happy birthday, my angel! we will keep your fire burning! 🎧

[samwoodsonblog]

Parallels between the films "Victor and Victoria" and "Peter".

no matter how original Peter is, the story of his origin begins with Victor. the director recognized this — and showed us a mirror image of Victor in his film. we see the same Robert, the same tailcoat, the same bar counter and cigarettes. the whole scene from the stairs to the tango is a direct reference to the legendary Schunzel film.

you know, Vicky got a lot of remakes. but no film has surpassed this single scene from Peter. because every director wanted to surpass Schunzel, and every actress wanted to outshine Renate Muller; and Koster was just making his own film, in which Gaal was herself. starting from the original, they created a new, incomparable masterpiece. therefore, the film is sincerely loved and popular in many countries so far.

and I'll probably tell you about his influence on the world later.

[samwoodsonblog]

I just made the most cozy German wallpaper on my phone 🥹🤎

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"Die drei von der Tankstelle" is one of the most popular German films of the 30s. he is so loved by his people that in the 50s he received a remake, songs from the film are still being sung. and yes, I love him dearly, and I can't stop admiring the final music!

[samwoodsonblog]

Die Puppe (Ernst Lubitsch, 1919) 💔

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Aesthetics of the pearl of German expressionism – Ernst Lubitsch's film "Die Puppe".

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Laurence Olivier, Anton Walbrook, Leslie Hovard and director Michael Powell on the set of the "49th parallel" films.

[samwoodsonblog]

i just got a new photo! this time it's the Austrian Hermann Thimig, one of the most popular Austrian actors in German–language cinema. during his life, he starred in hundreds of films, the most important of which are "The Doll", "The Wildcat", "A Night in Venice", "Threepenny Opera", "Paradise on Earth", and "Victor and Victoria". i will definitely tell you about the latter one day.

however, first I must introduce you to Hermann.

like Anton Walbrook, Hermann came from a famous acting family. his father, Hugo Thimig, was an actor, director and stage manager at the Burgtheater, one of the most important theaters in the world. Herman's brother and sister, Helene and Huns, were also actors. Helene was married to Max Reinhardt's.

Hermann made his debut at the Meiningen Court Theatre. since 1916 he performed at the Berlin People's Theatre (Volksbühne) under the direction of Max Reinhardt's. in the same year, he began acting in silent films. with the advent of sound cinema, Thimig moved away from the dramatic stage and played mainly in operetta films and comedies.

he starred with such widely popular actors as Ossie Oswald, Henny Porten, Renate Müller, Heinz Rümann, Hilde Hildebrand and Adolf Wohlbrück.

there is an inscription in German on the back of the photo, which I cannot translate in any way. please, if you are familiar with German, help me! it may not even have any historical value, but I'm terribly curious!

[samwoodsonblog]

one very nice interview... mom was against him being called Anton, hehe

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Batman of a normal person/Batman of a Strauss fan:

P. S: we are talking about Powell's 1955 film, in which Dr. Falke was the Bat.

[samwoodsonblog]

I want to say something about the 1935 film The Gypsy Baron.

i like that in this production Anton conceived to portray the character not just of Sandor Barinkay, but of Johann Strauss himself. his Sandor is not just young and cheerful, as all actors usually see him – he is almost insanely energetic, literally glowing from the inside. just look at that grin! pure energy, storm, passion! that was Schani himself. he constantly drank coffee, tirelessly conducted and wrote new waltzes in the morning, at night, in a restaurant and even in a carriage. Schani was sick because of this-but he couldn't live any other way. and Anton caught it, felt it and showed it. and this is still the only actor who has been able to show us the real Strauss.

i hope someday they will make a film about Johann (in the 2040s?), in which the actor will also feel his role well. and then we will see our beloved indefatigable composer again.

[samwoodsonblog]

i don't like it when people compare Buster and Charlie. this is wrong. why?

Keaton is mathematically accurate engineering calculations and dangerous acrobatic tricks, from which, as from lego, his ingenious humor is built. the meaning of his films is in every frame. therefore, he can be forgiven for not having any high idea. Buster is the great–grandfather of stuntmen. he always made all the crazy cars, all the "robots" for his films HIMSELF.

Chaplin always leaves the meaning behind the scenes. in each film, the global problems of humanity are raised. no matter what happens in the world, he never stays away, worries with all his heart and continues to fight. against the machine age, against Hitler, against the arms race and nuclear war! and there is a secret in all his extraordinary tricks (remember the roller-skating trick?). so Chaplin is the great–grandfather of the Green Room and films that are deep in meaning.

Charlie and Buster are just like heaven and earth. so different... always the first in everything... and both are equally beloved!

[samwoodsonblog]

now I have a postcard with Adolf in the role of the Gypsy Baron. i'm so glad! this outfit suits him so well, waaa 🤍🤍

and it's rare, very rare!

[samwoodsonblog]

I got bored here, and I manually counted (or rather, I rummaged through the archive and looked at each of the 479 existing compositions in detail) how many opuses Johann Strauss II wrote in Russia. There were 66 of them. Of these, about 60 were written in Pavlovsk, the rest in St. Petersburg.

upd: I will definitely make a post in which I will describe in detail which opus was written when and where of these 66.

PS: considering that in Pavlovsk, Schani wrote several polkas/balls, etc., dedicated to Satan, demons and Lucifer, I am not surprised at the number 66 at all.

[samwoodsonblog]

Hi! This is a small cozy blog for those who like the atmosphere of the early 20th century. Anton Walbrook, Laurence Olivier, Eduard Strauss, Buster Keaton and many other people who are so little talked about now, but who so want to talk about, will live here. I don't expect popularity. I don't think anyone will look in here. I just want to talk about what I like.

upd: and I don't know English well, but I'm trying to get better.