User Reviews

"Das Mädchen Rosemarie" or "The Girl Rosemarie" is a West German German-language movie from 1958, which means it will soon have its 60th anniversary. It is in black-and-white and won a Golden Globe back then as well. However, Germany did not choose to submit it to the Oscars. Maybe it also would have been a bit too controversial. But it sure was current as the title character is the young prostitute Rosemarie Nitribitt who died recently and the circumstances of her death are still ominous until today because of her involvement with the rich and famous, but also mobsters you see in the film here especially. But what makes this film really stand out is not only the story, especially as the story may not be really that accurate on many occasions. This perfectly fine though as creative freedom is nothing to be too harsh about and it was an interesting watch as well as one that may have you on the edge of your seat occasionally. But back to what I said earlier. There are elements in this film that you really would not expect and this includes somewhat subtly comedic scenes as well as the great deal music. It's certainly close to a level that one could call it a musical, even if it may a be a bit edgy. And with all these influences, the film never forgets its true purpose, namely telling the tragic story of the title character. There are many really smart scenes. You will recognize them when you see them. Let me just mention one example, namely the parallel between the ending and the beginning. And the sad statement that every girl is basically exchangeable, in terms of physicality, but also in terms of character and attitude that eventually did not matter at all in their profession. The director is Rolf Thiele and he did a pretty good job. Kinda shocking to see that he has not made any other somewhat known films during his long and prolific career. The material for him may have been lighter frequently. He is also one of (no less than) four writers working on the script and it's nice for once to see that we don't have a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. And the actors give convincing performances too and this involves many others too, not just Tiller for whom it's a career-defining performance. I actually would have hoped for Adorf and Froebe perhaps to have even more/better material to work with as their characters were a bit underused and probably did not match the actors' talent. But that's just a minor criticism. All in all, I am convinced by the film and it's a rare occasion of a German movie from the 1950s that was actually good. And it did not even need the oh so important WWII subject for succeeding. Well done to everybody involved. Go see it. And then decide for yourself if you wanna give the Nina Hoss film on the same character a chance, if you manage to get a hand on it.

It's funny to see that most comments on this movie so far came from Ann Arbor on a single day... classroom assignment? Anyway, I think there's more to the story of Rosemarie Nitribitt. First, she was a real person, lived and died (strangled in her apartment) - see Wikipedia. Her life (including driving a Mercedes 190 coupe) and death was a major scandal in 1950s Germany (roughly comparable to the Keeler/Profumo affair in Britain), and the murderer was never sentenced. This film came out soon after, and somehow touches the sensible points (and others - witness the subtle appearance of the Bundeswehr - marching boots only). But it also alienates them, and the whole story, in a Brechtian way.

The two musicians (one of them Mario Adorf of later fame) express the feelings of the "common people" in their songs. But the story is mostly about industrialists in black Mercedes 300s (loved their cavalcade in the parking garage) and their kith and kin. And Rosemarie's futile struggle to be accepted.

This movie, technically brilliant as it is, is no easy watching. Being a German roughly familiar with those times, I still think I'll need one or two more viewings. But after the first watch, my impression is that they'll be worth the time. One thing that struck me immediately was the factory tour (Bruster - Gert Froebe - producing "electronic brains"??), with three union men collecting signatures for a child care proposal.

German moviegoers in 1958 might have better understood all the subtleties. Almost 50 years later, this is a harder nut to crack, for me at least - but it promises to be worth it. In Germany, the DVD is inexpensively available in a 3-piece "Wirtschaftswunder" set at Weltbild, together with "Rosen für den Staatsanwalt" and "Die Halbstarken" which are very strong too. For me at least, fascinating.

I some what enjoyed Das Madchen Rosemarie because of the following reasons: camera shots in car, plot and storyline, setting, and several characters. The storyline was great and very creative. I guess I like those blackmail movies but, there is a couple parts that I didn't quite pick up on. For example, (this could be a spoiler) near the end Rosemarie receives a call from this guy in a booth and she demands 30,000. Then she hangs up. I was wondering how does she know this man? I felt like I either missed some connection during the movie or the director just threw that in there. Several characters stood out and kept my interest. The two singing men with their act and how they always kept on following Rosemarie. Were these guys suppose to be like musical narrators because sometimes they would be singing, but you would be watching Rosemarie in a different building? Regardless they added some of the comic relief that was needed in parts of the movie. I felt that Hartog was an odd character. He seemed to be too generous that you would expect him to do things in the movie. Another great aspect of this film is the writing. Some of the lines were great and the musical lyrics were hilarious!