The Tinder Box
(aka DAS FEUERZEUG)
With: Rolf Ludwig (the Soldier), Heinz Schubert (the Miser), Rolf Defrank (the Vain Man), Hannes Fischer (the Fat Man), Hans Fiebrandt (the King), Anna-Maria Besendahl (the Queen), Senta Bonacker (the Lady-in-waiting), Bella Waldritter (the Witch), Fritz Schlegel (the Innkeeper), Barbara Mehlan (the Princess), Maria Wendt (the Old Woman), Hans (the Young Boy), Steffie Spira, Johannes Maus, Jochen Diestelmann, Kay Sikor, W.O. Eckhardt, Paul Bottcher, Gunter Ballier, Hans Schaffer, Andere
English-Language Version:
***
SYNOPSIS: A young Soldier walks happily down a country lane. He has just finished serving his King in battle, and is a free citizen at last. As he walks, he sings of his freedom and plans for new adventure. Soon, he enters a forest in which stands an immense hollow tree. An ugly old witch appears out of nowwhere, and tells the Soldier that there is a fortune in coins buried in the tree trunk, and if he will only fetch a "tinder box" for her from the trunk, he can have all the treasure he can handle. The Soldier readily agrees to this curious deal, and soon he is being lowered via rope into the tree trunk. Once inside, the Soldier realizes that the trunk is an entrance to a large cavern boasting several doors.
Opening the first door, the Soldier is shocked to see an immense Dachshund with glowing eyes standing over a treasure chest! The Soldier coaxes the dog away, and opens the chest, only to find it is filled to the brim with copper coins! The Soldier greedily gathers some coins and puts them into his knapsack, then bids the canine adieu and leaves the room. Noticing a second door, the Soldier enters, only to encounter an immense Terrier with glowing eyes standing over another treasure chest! The Soldier coaxes the dog away, and opens the chest, only to find it is filled to the brim with silver coins! The Soldier empties his knapsack of the copper coins, and greedily gathers silver coins into his knapsack, then bids the canine adieu and leaves the room. Noticing a third door, the Soldier enters, only to encounter an immense Boxer with glowing eyes standing over yet another treasure chest! The Soldier coaxes the dog away, and opens the chest, only to find it is filled to the brim with gold coins! The Soldier empties his knapsack of the silver coins, and greedily gathers gold coins into his knapsack, then bids the canine adieu and leaves the room.
The Soldier grabs the little "tinder box" as promised the witch, and shouts to be hoisted out of the tree. The Witch demands to see the "tinder box" before she will lift him out of harm's way, and the Soldier refuses, getting himself out of the tree without her help. Calling the old Witch a liar, the crone turns into a serpent and prepares to attack the young man, but the intrepid Soldier kills the snake with his sword. Soon, the Soldier rests, using his gold-filled knapsack as a pillow.
The next day, the Soldier arrives in a nearby village, only to observe a young lad, Hans, being bullied by a local shoemaker. Hans hides behind the Soldier for protection, and the Soldier befriends the lad. Hans leads the Soldier to Anton Schaft, a kindly shoemaker on the other side of town. The Soldier pays Schaft ten gelders to take on Hans as an apprentice. The Soldier walks on to a tailor, Master Smith, who directs him to the finest guesthouse in town, the Inn of the Golden Swans. At the Inn, the Soldier walks in on a group of three Fops who are drinking and gambling. The Innkeeper refuses to serve the threadbare Soldier until he produces a gold piece, upon which the young man is given a hearty meal.
As the Soldier eats, the Fops mock him, and wonder out loud if he is the soldier prophecied to marry the Princess. According to the legend, the Princess is ordained to marry an ordinary soldier. The King, however, will serve no such legend, and wants his daughter to marry the Prince in the next kingdom. He has thus locked up the Princess, in the Copper Castle, and keeps her prisoner until she agrees to marry the arrogant Prince next door. After supper, the Soldier is shown to his room, where he summons Master Smith and Master Schaft, who make him a fine new suit and shiny leather boots, respectively. The next day, the Soldier strolls to the marketplace. The village children naturally gravitate to the kindly soul, and the Soldier repsonds by buying candy and toys for everyone!
The Soldier then heads to the Copper Castle, where he attempts to bribe the guard into letting him see the Princess, to no avail. The Solder returns to the Inn, where the Fops join him. The Soldier tells of his desire to get a respectable job and marry the Princess. The Fops respond that they all have pwoerful fathers, and can be of assistance. Over wine and cakes, the four become fast friends.
The next day, the Soldier takes the Fops on a wonderful carriage ride. Upon returning to the Inn, the Innkeeper demands payment from the Soldier, who discovers to his horror that he has finally run out of money! The Fops beat a hasty retreat, and the Soldier must give the Innkeeper his fine new wardrobe as payment. That night, the Soldier ponders his fate, when little Hans arrives with a bowl of soup from the shoemaker. The two discuss the imprisoned Princess, and Hans believes that the Soldier will finally see her.
After Hans leaves, the Soldier toys around with the tinder box he kept from the escapade with the Witch. He strikes the flint, and to his surprise, the giant Dachshund from the treasure-house appears in his room! The Soldier greets him, and asks if he could possibly come up with a bag of copper for the poor young man. The dog dissappears briefly, returning with a purse of copper for the Soldier. The Soldier strikes the flint again, and the giant Terrier from the treasure-house appears in his room! The Soldier greets him, and asks if he could possibly come up with a bag of silver for the poor young man. The dog dissappears briefly, returning with a purse of silver for the Soldier. The Soldier strikes the flint yet again, and the giant Boxer from the treasure-house appears in his room! The Soldier greets him, and asks if he could possibly come up with a bag of gold for the poor young man. The dog dissappears briefly, returning with a purse of gold for the Soldier.
The next morning, the Soldier gladly pays his outstanding debt to the Innkeeper with his newfound wealth, to the complete astonishment of the Fops. The Soldier, however, is no longer fooled by these fair-weather friends. Hans enters and offers the Soldier breakfast of bacon and eggs. The Soldier returns the kindness by having the Innkeeper prepare a feast for himself and his boss. The Fops leave, disgusted.
That night, the Soldier uses the tinder box again to summon a brief glimpse of the Fairy Princess, who sleeps peacefully in a chair. The Soldier vows to rescue her from her fate. The next day, in the King's court, the Princess laments her situation out loud, and desires to go to the park. Her parents, however, will hear of no such thing. The Princess then tells about a dream she had last night, in which she was kissed by a Soldier. The King reminds her that she is duty-bound to marry the Prince from the neighboring realm. The Princess is dragged off to her prison-rooms.
That night, as the Princess sleeps, the giant Dachshund appears in her room and carries her off to see the Soldier, as a chambermaid watches in horror. The chambermaid sees the dog carry the Princess into the Inn next door, and marks the door with chalk so that the King's guards may take the appropriate action come the morrow. Inside the Inn, the Soldier asks the Dachshund's help in freeing the Princess. The canine leads the young man outside and gives him another piece of chalk. The Soldier then marks all the doors of the village, so that the Princess' actual whereabouts may be obscured.
The next day, the King and Queen and their guards attempt to locate the hideout of the Princess, but cannot due to the wily actions of the Soldier and his canine helper. That night, the Soldier is able to gain entry to the Copper Castle by hopping the gate and climbing in through an open window. However, he has foolishly left his magic tinder box back in his room, unattended. He is able to sneak into the Princess' bedchambers without being caught, but trips over the chambermaid, who screams and awakens the guards. The Soldier is summarily captured, and whithout his tinder box, is helpless. The King immediately dispatches him to the dungeon, where he awaits execution next morning.
Next morning, the Soldier awakens to the sound of a parade marching past his door. Hans peeks in through the dungeon window, and asks how he may assist his friend. The Soldier tells Hans about the tinder box, who runs off to fetch it. Hans reaches the Inn, only to find the front door locked. Meanwhile, a crowd gathers at the scaffold, in anticipation of the Soldier's hanging. Amongst the citizens are all the people the kindly Soldier helped, despondant over the Soldier's unjust fate. Hans climbs into the Soldier's window to fetch the tinder box, but is apprehended as a common thief when he tries to descend to street level.
Luckily, the wily youth is able to easily escape the buffoonish peace officer, and he reaches the Soldier just as the drums for execution are playing. Hans tosses the tinder box to the Soldier, who requests one last smoke before he is hung. Pretending to light his pipe, the Soldier actually activates the tinder box, and summons all three of his giant canine friends to help him escape the gallows. The giant dogs appear and wreak havoc on the panic-stricken populace. The corrupt King and his men disperse. The Soldier thanks his three magical friends, who return from whence they came. The Princess enters the square, and joins her hero. The crowd cheers on this most star-crossed couple.
THE END
***
THE TINDER BOX is a delightful cinema fairy tale, very much in keeping with the spirit of Hans Christian Andersen, and very much a companion piece to director Siegfried Hartmann’s earlier effort, THE GOLDEN GOOSE. In each, a good-hearted man wins friends and helps a community in turmoil with the help of magically-procured gold. In each, the hero manages to woo and rescue a compromised Princess. IN each, magical animals help our hero in his quest. In addition, the depiction of a typical fairy-tale village, with its King’s court, tradesmen, and various other citizens is evoked quite nicely in each.
Most exciting in THE TINDER BOX are the sequences involving the giant, magical canines, a Dachshund, a Terrier and a Boxer, all with glowing eyes and good hearts, each of which helps our hero countless times. Also notable is an old Witch, whose machinations cause our hero his travails, but also oddly his eventual triumph.
Also fun are the many scenes with the Soldier and his newly-found friends, The Fops. These three pretentious buffoons represent everything that was wrong with society at the time (and today!), lazy good-for-nothings living on their fathers’ income and adding nothing constructive to society, yet pretending to be an essential part thereof.
This Icestorm DVD set, taken from the terrific “Tales from Europe” series, features THE TINDER BOX and THE SINGING, RINGING TREE, another fairy tale favorite we hope to review soon. Each DVD features the original German release, in magnificently restored color, along with an English-Language version. IN the case of THE SINGING, RINGING TREE, the English version is a narrated one released by the BBC in the UK. In the case of THE TINDER BOX, the English version appears to be the dubbed version released by Childhood Productions in 1969, but as the main titles still consist of the original German production credits, this is only an educated guess. Either way, it is great to finally be able to catch up with this most obscure Childhood Productions release. The only one still among the missing is DR. COPPELIUS!
The foto gallery for THE TINDER BOX is taken entirely from the “Stills Gallery” of the Icestorm DVD. Enjoy!
Video/DVD availability: VHS (United American Video, oop); DVD ("Tales from Europe" series)
Links of related interest:
(1958, East Germany) color 78 minutes
DEFA / Progress Film-Verleih
Story: Hans Christian Andersen
Screenplay: Siegfried Hartmann, Anneliese Kocialek, Fred Rodrian
Music: Siegfried Bethmann
Cinematography: Erich Gusko
Special Effects: Ernst Kunstmann, Vera Kunstmann
Sets: Hans Poppe
“Ausfuhrung”: Franz Furst
Costume Design: Marianne Schmidt
Make-Up: Bernhard Kalisch, Margarethe Walther
Sound: Gerhard Wieck
Editing: Hildegard Conrad
Assistant Director: Heinz Mentel
Assistant Camera: Willy Flohr
“Aufnahme-Leitung”: Otto Ziesenitz
Produced by: Anni von Zieten
Directed by: Siegfried Hartmann
(1969) Childhood Productions (January release)
National Screen Service #68-325
the Hans Christian Andersen story
for more great pix, visit the
TINDER BOX
foto gallery!