Johan Kaart and Riek Berkhout in Malle gevallen (1934)
Dutch postcard. Photo: Loet C. Barnstijn Film. Johan Kaart and Riek Berkhout in Malle gevallen/Silly Situations (Jaap Speyer, 1934).
Johan Kaart and Louis de Bree starred in the Dutch romantic comedy Malle gevallen/Silly situations (Jaap Speyer, 1934), produced by the Dutch mogul Loet C. Barnstijn.
Malle gevallen/Silly situations (1934) was one of the dozens of Dutch sound films, made after the success of the musical De Jantjes/The Tars (Jaap Speyer, 1933). The producer of De Jantjes, film distributor and former cinema operator Loet C. Barnstijn, engaged director Jaap Speyer, who had worked for years in the silent film industry in Berlin and who had directed De Jantjes. In 1929, Barnstijn had Philips develop the ‘Loetafoon’, his own projection system for sound films. In the few years that followed, he imported sound-film cameras, and was the first person in the Netherlands to produce a short sound film. Malle gevallen is a romantic comedy written by Hans Martin and Simon Koster based on Martin's 1913 novel. The plot is about three students (Roland Varno, Louis Borel and Johan Kaart Jr.) who are in love with three girls (Enny Meunier, Annie van Duyn and Jopie Koopman). At the time, Roland Varno (1908-1996) was already known for his role as one of the gymnasiasts in Josef von Sternberg's Der blaue Engel/The Blue Angel (1930). He later worked in Hollywood as a character actor, mainly in B-pictures. Louis Borel (1905-1973) appeared in films in the Netherlands, in Great Britain and in Hollywood. He also adapted, translated, directed and starred in many stage plays. At the end of his career he became a popular TV star. Johan Kaart Jr. (1897-1976) starred in seven Dutch films between 1934 and 1937. After the war he played in several other Dutch films. He also worked often for radio and TV, but his main stage was the theatre.
Malle gevallen/Silly situations (1934) was intended as a light romantic comedy, but it was made into a musical with songs by orchestra leader Max Tak. Although scriptwriters Martin and Koster wanted to make something sophisticated, the final result was a farce. The famous film critic L.J. Jordaan complained about the "coarseness and bad taste" in the film. Nevertheless, the film was a commercial success. The film was regularly shown in the Dutch cinemas until it was banned in 1942 by the Nazis. Why the Nazis forbade the film is still unknown. In 1935, Loet C. Barnstijn released De familie van mijn vrouw/The family of my wife (Jaap Speyer, 1935) with Sylvain Poons. That same year he bought the Oosterbeek Estate near Wassenaar and built two film studios. He called this Filmstad (Film City). It consisted of an office, a storage film, a recording studio and a technical workshop. This studio produced the successful film Merijntje Gijzen's jeugd/Merijntje Gijzen's youth, based on the novels by A.M. de Jong. When World War II broke out, Barnstijn stayed in the United States because of his Jewish background. The film studios of Oosterbeek were confiscated by the German film company Ufa and were later destroyed during an air raid. Barnstijn died in the USA in 1953. In 2007, the Dutch Filmmuseum presented a DVD of Malle gevallen.
Sources: Eye (Dutch), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Johan Kaart and Riek Berkhout in Malle gevallen (1934)
Dutch postcard. Photo: Loet C. Barnstijn Film. Johan Kaart and Riek Berkhout in Malle gevallen/Silly Situations (Jaap Speyer, 1934).
Johan Kaart and Louis de Bree starred in the Dutch romantic comedy Malle gevallen/Silly situations (Jaap Speyer, 1934), produced by the Dutch mogul Loet C. Barnstijn.
Malle gevallen/Silly situations (1934) was one of the dozens of Dutch sound films, made after the success of the musical De Jantjes/The Tars (Jaap Speyer, 1933). The producer of De Jantjes, film distributor and former cinema operator Loet C. Barnstijn, engaged director Jaap Speyer, who had worked for years in the silent film industry in Berlin and who had directed De Jantjes. In 1929, Barnstijn had Philips develop the ‘Loetafoon’, his own projection system for sound films. In the few years that followed, he imported sound-film cameras, and was the first person in the Netherlands to produce a short sound film. Malle gevallen is a romantic comedy written by Hans Martin and Simon Koster based on Martin's 1913 novel. The plot is about three students (Roland Varno, Louis Borel and Johan Kaart Jr.) who are in love with three girls (Enny Meunier, Annie van Duyn and Jopie Koopman). At the time, Roland Varno (1908-1996) was already known for his role as one of the gymnasiasts in Josef von Sternberg's Der blaue Engel/The Blue Angel (1930). He later worked in Hollywood as a character actor, mainly in B-pictures. Louis Borel (1905-1973) appeared in films in the Netherlands, in Great Britain and in Hollywood. He also adapted, translated, directed and starred in many stage plays. At the end of his career he became a popular TV star. Johan Kaart Jr. (1897-1976) starred in seven Dutch films between 1934 and 1937. After the war he played in several other Dutch films. He also worked often for radio and TV, but his main stage was the theatre.
Malle gevallen/Silly situations (1934) was intended as a light romantic comedy, but it was made into a musical with songs by orchestra leader Max Tak. Although scriptwriters Martin and Koster wanted to make something sophisticated, the final result was a farce. The famous film critic L.J. Jordaan complained about the "coarseness and bad taste" in the film. Nevertheless, the film was a commercial success. The film was regularly shown in the Dutch cinemas until it was banned in 1942 by the Nazis. Why the Nazis forbade the film is still unknown. In 1935, Loet C. Barnstijn released De familie van mijn vrouw/The family of my wife (Jaap Speyer, 1935) with Sylvain Poons. That same year he bought the Oosterbeek Estate near Wassenaar and built two film studios. He called this Filmstad (Film City). It consisted of an office, a storage film, a recording studio and a technical workshop. This studio produced the successful film Merijntje Gijzen's jeugd/Merijntje Gijzen's youth, based on the novels by A.M. de Jong. When World War II broke out, Barnstijn stayed in the United States because of his Jewish background. The film studios of Oosterbeek were confiscated by the German film company Ufa and were later destroyed during an air raid. Barnstijn died in the USA in 1953. In 2007, the Dutch Filmmuseum presented a DVD of Malle gevallen.
Sources: Eye (Dutch), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.