Desirée (1954) - The Men (1950) 2DVD Desirée - Die Männer / Directed by Henry Koster, Fred Zinnemann / Starring: Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Teresa Wright, Jack Webb

UPC / EAN 4006680052786

MADE IN GERMANY

REGION 2 PAL DVD

AUDIO: German mono

Subtitles: German

TOTAL RUNTIME: 106+83 MINUTES (2 discs)

English Summary:

Désirée is a 1954 American historical-biographical film directed by Henry Koster and produced by Julian Blaustein from a screenplay by Daniel Taradash, based on the best-selling novel Désirée by Annemarie Selinko. The music score was by Alex North and the cinematography by Milton R. Krasner. The film was made in CinemaScope.

In 1794, in Marseille, Désirée Clary makes the acquaintance of a Corsican, Joseph Bonaparte, and invites him and his brother, General Napoleon Bonaparte, to call upon the family the following day. The next day, Julie, Désirée's sister, and Joseph are immediately attracted to each other, and Napoleon is taken with Désirée. He admits to her that the poor Bonaparte brothers need the rich dowries of the Clary sisters. Later, Désirée learns that Napoleon has been arrested and taken to Paris.

Napoleon eventually returns to Marseille, tells Désirée that he has been cleared of all charges, but has been ordered to track down royalists in Paris. Désirée begs Napoleon to leave the Army and join her brother in business, but he scoffs at the idea and instead proposes marriage. Désirée accepts and lends Napoleon the money to return to Paris.

Cast / Besetzung:

The Men is a 1950 American drama film. Set mostly in a paraplegic ward of a VA hospital, the film stars Marlon Brando (in his film debut) as an ex-GI named Ken who as a result of a war wound is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair. Suffering depression and impaired self-concept, Ken stuggles to accept his disability and his need to accept care from others, including from his fiancée/wife. During World War II, U.S. Army Lieutenant Ken Wilocek is shot in the back by a sniper, injuring his spinal cord. In the years that follow, he faces a series of ongoing struggles in accepting his condition, in rehabilitation and in re-entering society. The film also focuses on the challenges facing Ken and Ellen, his fiancée, as individuals and as a couple, before and after they marry. It also highlights events in the lives of the other men in the VA hospital, from a wedding celebration to a sudden death from meningitis. Dr. Brock heads the team of doctors, nurses and physical therapists. Near the end of the film, when Ken accuses him of not understanding the difficulties threatening his marriage, Brock tells Ken about his own frustration: “I can never see a patient walk out of here, never. I can keep a man alive, but in his heart he feels I failed him. You feel that way don’t you? Took me a long time to get used to that.” He reveals that he began specializing in paraplegia 18 years ago, after his wife was injured in a car accident. “Paraplegia was a new field, then. At least she didn't have to suffer too long…I’d give anything I’ve got to know that when I go home I'd find her there, waiting for me, in a wheelchair.“ He can't promise that everything will work out with Ellen, but if she loves Ken, and he behaves, chances are good. Anyway, he says, Ken has a lot of living to do, and he has to do it for himself.

Cast / Besetzung:

• Marlon Brando as Ken Wilocek
• Teresa Wright as Ellen
• Everett Sloane as Dr. Brock
• Jack Webb as Norm
• Richard Erdman as Leo
• Arthur Jurado as Angel
• Virginia Farmer as Nurse Robbins
• Dorothy Tree as Ellen's Mother
• Howard St. John as Ellen's Father
• Many of the patients and staff at the Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital” in Van Nuys, California, where much of the picture was filmed.

German Summary:

Désirée ist ein amerikanischer Spielfilm (Filmbiografie, Historienfilm, Liebesfilm), den Regisseur Henry Koster für 20th Century Fox inszeniert hat und der 1954 in die Kinos kam. Der aufwendig in CinemaScope produzierte Film basiert auf dem gleichnamigen Bestsellerroman von Annemarie Selinko (1951) und erzählt aus der Perspektive von Désirée Clary, der späteren Königin von Schweden und Norwegen, die Lebensgeschichte von Napoleon Bonaparte. Die historische Clary und der damals noch unbedeutende General Bonaparte waren 1795/1796 einige Monate lang verlobt gewesen. In den Hauptrollen des Films sind Jean Simmons und Marlon Brando zu sehen.

Die Männer

Während eines Einsatzes an einem unbestimmten Schauplatz des Zweiten Weltkrieges wird Ken Wilcheck, genannt „Bud“, ein junger Infanterieleutnant, der im Zivilleben Sportstudent ist, von einer Kugel in den Rücken getroffen. Für seine Tapferkeit wird er mit dem Silver Star ausgezeichnet, durch die Verletzung ist er jedoch querschnittgelähmt. Im Krankenhaus betreut ihn Dr. Brock, ein optimistischer, aber illusionsloser und geradliniger Mediziner, dessen Motto lautet: „Bitte, Gott, gib uns die Kraft, das Unmögliche zu tun – aber gib uns den Mut zu erkennen, was wirklich unmöglich ist.“ Bud war vor seinem Kriegseinsatz mit Elly Wilosek verlobt, hat nach seiner Verletzung die Verbindung jedoch abgebrochen, da er Zweifel an der Belastbarkeit von Ellys Zuneigung hat. Die junge Frau erweist sich freilich als nüchtern und zielstrebig, folgt ihm und bittet Dr. Brock, zwischen ihr und Bud zu vermitteln.

Bud weist Dr. Brocks Vermittlungsversuch zurück. Während die übrigen Patienten der Station sich auf dem Wege der Anpassung an ihre körperliche Behinderung befinden und einen kameradschaftlichen und trocken-humorigen Umgangston pflegen, ist Bud in tiefer Verstörung über sein körperliches Schicksal gefangen und lehnt jede Rückkehr zur Normalität ab. Zur „Therapie“ verlegt Dr. Brock ihn aus seinem Einzelzimmer in die Gruppenstation, wo er zunächst jeden Kontakt zu den Mitpatienten verweigert, dann jedoch in die Konfrontation gezwungen und sich darüber klar wird, dass auch andere Menschen Probleme haben.