Silent Film

THE ODDBALL

DER SONDERLING

Directed by Walter Jerven

TUESDAY JANUARY 15 6:30PM CASTRO

Introduction by Stefan Drössler Director of the Film Museum Munich

This year’s silent film comes to us, newly restored, via the Munich Film Museum. The 1929 production presents the comedic talents of Karl Valentin and Liesl Karstadt, who at the time of this performance had been a successful team for 18 years. Right at the end of the silent film era, THE ODDBALL is their only feature-length silent film, and Valentin’s only silent film comedy of the grotesque.
Karl is an avid stamp collector and journeyman in the employ of the tailor Kuhn. Having taken a fancy to the journeyman, the tailor’s wife Paula means to woo him by adding a priceless stamp to his collection. When a client is robbed, the value of the stamp makes Karl a suspect, and he is wrongly imprisoned until the embarrassing particulars come to light. Despite effusive apologies, Karl remains distraught and repeatedly attempts suicide, to no avail: the rope is too short, the water is too shallow, the gas is off; even banging his head against a brick wall does not help—the wall collapses. But when the love-struck Paula offers him a motorcycle ride, he declares “I’m not tired of life”! –Petra Wehle
The silent film will be accompanied on the Mighty Wurlitzer with an original score by Dennis James.

Co-presented by the
SAN FRANCISCO SILENT FILM FESTIVAL

PURCHASE TICKET

Country
Germany
Year
1929
Run Time
35mm, 109 min, black & white
Silent with German intertitles ;
read live in English by Stacey Wisnia
Cast
Karl Valentin
Liesl Karlstadt
Truus van Aalten
Ferdinand Martini
Heinz Könecke
Gustl Stark-Gstettenbaur
Camera
Hans Karl Gottschalk
Screenwriter
Walter Jerven
Printsource
Filmmuseum München
Email
filmmuseum@muenchen.de
Director

Karl Valentin
was born Valentin Ludwig Fey in 1882, son of a furniture mover in Au, near Munich. His first appearance under the name Karl Valentin was in 1902, the same year his father died. Valentin’s comedic sense developed over the course of such failures as the bankruptcy of his deceased father’s firm once Valentin had taken charge, and an unsuccessful tour as a one-man band, in which he played twenty instruments. By 1908 his luck took a turn with the success of his performance of his monologue Das Aquarium. In 1911 he began his long and successful association with Elisabeth Wellano, who became well known as Liesl Karlstadt. Bertold Brecht cites Karl Valentin as an important influence.

Walter Jerven
THE ODDBALL is Walter Jerven’s directorial debut. Jerven then spent several years writing screenplays for such films as ICH KENN’ DICH NICHT UND LIEBE DICH (1933/34), PUNKS KOMMT AUS AMERIKA (1934/35), LA PALOMA, EIN LIED DER KAMERADSCHAFT (1934). His final credits include the two documentaries VON ZEPPELIN 1 BIS LZ 130 (1937) and HIMMELSTÜRMER, GEBURT UND GESCHICHTE DES FLIEGENS (1941).