Heißer Sommer


Heißer Sommer, aka Hot Summer, is a 1968 East German musical film. A 2001 video release promotes the film as "The East German Grease" although perhaps it is closer in concept to the 1963 British movie Summer Holiday which starred Cliff Richard.

Plot

A group of girls and a separate group of boys come across each other whilst travelling from Leipzig to Rügen Island for the summer holidays. Initially trying to ignore and avoid each other, the two groups find themselves billeted close by, relaxing together, enjoying each other's company and the resulting relationships that develop. The movie deals with the conflicts of each relationship in the group by singing and dancing their way through each situation including a brief encounter with the VoPo's - the police. The majority of the film is shot on Rügen Island which at the time, was a popular destination for East Germans and today is popular with travellers the world over. Included are some early footage of Leipzig and East Berlin during the reconstruction and re-building era of the former GDR.

Cast

  • Chris Doerk - Stupsi
  • Frank Schöbel - Kai
  • Regine Albrecht - Brit
  • Hanns-Michael Schmidt - Wolf
  • Georg-Peter Welzel - Schpack
  • Hans Mietzner - Schelle
  • Norbert Speer - Rechtsanwalt
  • Gerd Nordheim - Tom
  • Ernst-Jürgen Thede - Transistor
  • Madeleine Lierck - Thalia
  • Rosa Lotze - Trude
  • Bruno Carstens - Meister Klaus
  • Werner Lierck - Abschnittsbevollmächtigter
  • Marianne Wünscher - VEG-Leiterin
  • Erich Brauer - Fischer
  • Urta Bühler - Sybille
  • Camilla Hempel - Röschen
  • Leonore Kaufmann - Mädchen
  • Ursula Soika - Bärbel
  • Hella Ziesing - Mädchen
  • Sylvia von Kashiwoslozki - Mädchen
  • Marlis Räth - Himmlische
  • Angelika Schmidt - Himmlische
  • Günther Lisiecki - Junge
  • Peter Heiland - Junge
  • Hans-Christian Albers - Junge

Soundtrack

  1. Heißer Sommer
  2. Das Darf Nicht Wahr Sein
  3. Männer, Die Noch Keine Sind
  4. Wir
  5. Tanz Am Strand
  6. Woher Willst Du Wissen, Wer Ich Bin?
  7. Was Erleben
  8. Ein Sommerlied
  9. Fang Doch Den Sonnenstrahl
  10. Ich Fand Die Eine
  11. Es War Mal Ein Mädchen
  12. Einmal Muß Ein Ende Sein
  13. Finale Heißer Sommer

Reception and legacy

The film sold 3,441,595 tickets during its original run, making it the 39th highest grossing film in East German history. It was featured in the 1997 documentary film East Side Story. In 2009, a live musical production of Heißer Sommer was held in Berlin.
A 2000 review in Shock Cinema magazine said that the film "proves that East Germany used to make teen-musical exploitation flicks that were just as vapid as American drive-in fare", and that it was "goofy, colorful and best enjoyed in brief, easy-to-digest chunks". In a 2016 poll by newspaper Freie Presse, Heißer Sommer was voted by readers as the best East German film.