The Berliner

The Berliner (; also known as The Ballad of Berlin) is a 1948 German comedy film adapted by Günter Neumann from his cabaret, directed by Robert A. Stemmle, and starring Gert Fröbe in his first leading role. It offers a satirical portrayal of life in Berlin in the aftermath of World War II. Plot The film has a framing narrative set in 2048 where viewers are offered the chance to look back at "The Ancients", which introduces the main narrative set in 1948. The film reflects the struggles of Otto Normalverbraucher (Otto Average-Consumer, played by Fröbe), a former German soldier returning to civilian life in Berlin after World War II. After many travails, struggling to find food, shelter, and work, he eventually falls in love and ends up happily with his dream woman. Production The film was adapted by Günter Neumann from his cabaret program Schwarzer Jahrmarkt, was filmed in West Berlin at the time of the Soviet blockade, and shot on location and at the Tempelhof Studios. The film was narrated by Erik Ode. Joseph Burstyn Inc. distributed the film in the U.S. Cast Gert Fröbe as Otto Normalverbraucher Tatjana Sais as Frau Ida Holle Ute Sielisch as Eva Wandel, Bäuerin Aribert Wäscher as Anton Zeithammer O.E. Hasse as Der Reaktionär Hans Deppe as Emil Lemke Werner Oehlschlaeger as Raisonneur Karl Schönböck as Rundfunkreporter Herbert Hübner as Herr Bollmann, politischer Redner Alfred Schieske as Herr Schneidewind, Politischer Redner Herbert Weissbach as Spirituosenhändler Kurt Weitkamp as Einbrecher Franz-Otto Krüger as Einbrecher Franz