Protraph Lack of good storyline.

GetPapa Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

HeadlinesExotic Boring

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank" is a German comedy movie in color from 1968, so this one will soon have its 50th anniversary. I do not want to go much into detail about the cast, you can check the list for yourself, but you will find many famous names on there, people who are still well-known in Germany almost half a century later. This probably does not apply to the writer and director though. The film is not too long, only runs for slightly over 80 minutes, but that's good, better this way than stuffed up to 100 with unnecessary filler material. It was a huge success with audiences and won a Golden Screen as a consequence. As a result of that, several other "Lümmel" movies were made afterward with some of the cast members from this one, but also new faces like Heintje who joined the gang in the second film.I personally must say the main reason why this works are not the pranks or the younger actors, it's the experienced cast members, especially Theo Lingen, but also Rudolf Schündler, who sadly only appears early on but makes me want to check out the sequels and also Günther Schramm. In contrast to that, Hans Kraus was quite forgettable and he was actually maybe the main character. His scenes when he talks to the audience are even downright cringeworthy. Hannelore Elsner brings really nothing to the table, but that's more the fault of how the character was written than of her acting. And the other younger actors are also forgettable for the most part. I guess their task was just to look good. But thankfully, there is the likes of Lingen in here, people with real talent. They are the ones who keep this film from being a complete waste of time and they are also the ones who let me recommend the watch. Thumbs up for this first "Lümmel" movie.

jan onderwater Social attitudes were changing in the late 60's and the film history attributed to these changes. A notorious attribution from the German cinema are the so-called "Lümmel films" (6 in total) in which the young students and other youths dissociate themselves from the older generation. But as this series was made as comedy within the mainstream German cinema, its rebellion is toned down to say the least and no more than a standard farce is the outcome.In this episode there are some remarks made by the students to their teachers about the Nazi-past of some of them, Vaterland, military discipline and such, but on the whole the film is no more than a series of the usual adolescent, cheap and boring jokes and the usual petty love affair. The script is just acceptable with only a hint of story; in fact it is no more than a series of events, wearisome held together by director Werner Jacobs who directs in his well-known "as long as it is on the celluloid" style.Great comedian Theo Lingen was a regular in the series and brings with him his charm, but can not provide anything else. Georg Thomalla keeps himself in check and watch how charming he can be when he does so. The rest of the cast is nondescript, but I love Hannelore Elsner in her white-lace corset.It must be said that compared to the sequels (and other films prompted by the "Lümmel films") this episode is not made badly at all - the quality such as there is would deteriorate in the sequels - , but in the end the viewer will agree with the phrase that Hansi Kraus frequently says directly into the camera: "Man fasst es nicht" - It is beyond understanding.