Kino - german films

Die Drei von der Tankstelle
THREE FROM THE FILLING STATION
Three well-off young men return home in a luxurious
cabriolet to find that all their furniture has been seized.
Their lawyer informs them that their bank has
gone bankrupt and that they have lost their entire
fortune. Instead of bemoaning the catastrophe, they
open a petrol station which provides enough to live
on, but does not make them rich. Willy, Kurt and
Hans have no intention of allowing their friendship to
suffer as a result of life’s caprices. The appearance of
a charming woman, however, poses a serious threat:
all three fall in love with Lilian, although none of the
three at first realize that the same woman is taking
them for ride. Lilian enjoys their attention for a while,
but then decides in favor of Willy and is faced with
the difficult task of telling the other two. A major
quarrel ensues, apparently leading to the end of the
men’s friendship, as well as of the romance between
Lilian and Willy.
Lilian’s wealthy father then starts a petrol company
and engages the men as his directors and Lilian as the
secretary. The ploy almost fails as Willy discovers who
is really behind the newly founded company. Eager to
show her prowess on the typewriter, Lilian types a
marriage contract instead of the letter of resignation
dictated by Willy. Willy signs the marriage contract
without reading it. When he discovers what he has
signed, his rage can only calmed by references to the
legal consequences that would ensue in the event of
a breach of contract. When Lilian tears up the paper
in protest to Willy’s harsh reaction, he starts to melt
and the two fall into one another’s arms …
World Sales:
Transit Film GmbH · Loy W. Arnold, Mark Gruenthal
Dachauer Strasse 35 · 80335 Munich/Germany
phone +49-89-5 99 88 50 · fax +49-89-59 98 85 20
email: transitfilm@compuserve.com · www.transitfilm.de
Genre Comedy Category Feature Film Cinema Year of
Production 1930 Director Wilhelm Thiele Screenplay
Franz Schulz, Paul Franck Director of Photography
Franz Planer Editor Viktor Gertler Music by Werner R.
Heymann Production Design Otto Hunte Producer
Erich Pommer Production Company Universum-Film,
Berlin Rights Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Foundation,
Wiesbaden Principal Cast Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch,
Oskar Karlweis, Heinz Ruehmann, Fritz Kampers, Olga
Tschechowa, Kurt Gerron, Gertrud Wolle, Felix Bressart
Length 99 min, 2,688 m Format 35 mm, b&w, 1:1.37
Original Version German Subtitled Versions English,
French Sound Technology Optical Sound German
Distributor Transit Film GmbH, Munich
Wilhelm Thiele was born as Wilhelm Isersohn in 1890 in
Vienna and died in 1975 in California. After studying at the
Vienna Conservatory, he worked as a stage actor at the
famous Burgtheater in Vienna and at various theaters in
Germany. In 1918, he began his career as a theater director at
the Volkstheater in Munich, followed by his first outing in film
in 1922 with Carl Michael Ziehrer, Der letzte
Walzerkoenig. In 1933, he emigrated to the USA, where
he worked for the major studios 20th Century Fox,
Paramount, and MGM. A selection of his other films includes:
the silent classics Orient Express (1927), Hurrah! Ich
lebe! (1928), and Adieu Mascotte (1929), as well as
Liebeswalzer (1930), Three From the Filling
Station (Die Drei von der Tankstelle, 1930), The
Private Secretary (Die Privatsekretaerin, 1930),
numerous episodes of the successful TV series The Lone
Ranger (1950), Der letzte Fussgaenger (1960), and
Sabine und die 100 Maenner (1960), among others.
kino 4 the 100 most significant german films – no. 55
2003 34
Scene from ”Three From the Filling Station“ (photo courtesy of
Filmmuseum Berlin/Deutsche Kinemathek)