Alfred Rasser (1907-1977) was a Swiss multi-talent: Originally a painter, he studied acting, but also worked as book-keeper and chicken-breeder. Decades long he serves Switzerland as a politician, also in the high National Counsil. Although he was just in a good dozens of movies, he stays unforgotten, though, basically because of his unique looks, his very characteristic Basel-German and most of all his talent to imitate real persons as well as types. However, his basic goal was stage-acting, he founded his Theater am Spalenberg which still exists and flourishes.
"HD-Soldat" Läppli, which was not only played by Rasser in the main role, but also directed by himself, is a wonderful farce on the nonsense of war, of military, of police, and, in general a gigantic comic slapstick against any form of legal(ized) force and terror. "I did never obey my whole life long", Rasser says in the Specials of the digitally remastered DVD from 2004 which is unfortunately not available in the US, since nobody found it worth to subtitle it and offer it to one of the big American movie distributors.
The HD-Läppli-play is loosely based on the famous Czech novel Schwejk by Jaroslav Hasek. The splendid success of "HD-Soldat Läppli", brought to the Swiss cinemas in 1959, provoked as a response the edition of the original Svejk-thematic already in 1960, with Heinz Rühmann in the main role ("Der brave Soldat Schwejk"). However, Rassers's "Läppli" is a very typical Swiss "Schwejk", it is the Swiss "füdlibürgertum" (translation on request) he attacks, the weaknesses of the Swiss officials that are distorted until recognizability. Admittedly, this movie requires a public that is a bit acquainted with everyday's Swiss life and customs. However, in the half a century that has passed since the release, the movie has lost nothing from his glory. So, there are still too many lieutenant Rubli's, Alice Brodtbecks, Major Indlekofer's in and outside of Switzerland, but hopefully also enough Läppli's and Mislin's. If John le Carré's bonmot is true that people start thinking by provocation, it may be true, too, that the noble sense of nonsense is to provoke the rise of sense - for example, of common-sense.
"HD-Soldat" Läppli, which was not only played by Rasser in the main role, but also directed by himself, is a wonderful farce on the nonsense of war, of military, of police, and, in general a gigantic comic slapstick against any form of legal(ized) force and terror. "I did never obey my whole life long", Rasser says in the Specials of the digitally remastered DVD from 2004 which is unfortunately not available in the US, since nobody found it worth to subtitle it and offer it to one of the big American movie distributors.
The HD-Läppli-play is loosely based on the famous Czech novel Schwejk by Jaroslav Hasek. The splendid success of "HD-Soldat Läppli", brought to the Swiss cinemas in 1959, provoked as a response the edition of the original Svejk-thematic already in 1960, with Heinz Rühmann in the main role ("Der brave Soldat Schwejk"). However, Rassers's "Läppli" is a very typical Swiss "Schwejk", it is the Swiss "füdlibürgertum" (translation on request) he attacks, the weaknesses of the Swiss officials that are distorted until recognizability. Admittedly, this movie requires a public that is a bit acquainted with everyday's Swiss life and customs. However, in the half a century that has passed since the release, the movie has lost nothing from his glory. So, there are still too many lieutenant Rubli's, Alice Brodtbecks, Major Indlekofer's in and outside of Switzerland, but hopefully also enough Läppli's and Mislin's. If John le Carré's bonmot is true that people start thinking by provocation, it may be true, too, that the noble sense of nonsense is to provoke the rise of sense - for example, of common-sense.
