"Emil und die Detektive" or "Emil and the Detectives" is a West German German-language movie from 1954, so this one is already way over 60 years old. The writer and director is the prolific Robert A. Stemmle, one of the most successful German filmmakers of his time and here he adapted the work by Erich Kästner, who wrote the famous children's book, and Billy Wilder who worked on the script of the 1930s black-and-white film with the same name. I guess they really wanted a color version and that was one of the main reasons why this one was made. To put in in a perspective of time by the way, this one is exactly from the year when Germany won the Soccer World Cup for the first time. It runs slightly over 90 minutes and has Peter Finkbeiner star as the title character. For Finkbeiner, it was the beginning of a career that was very short as he made his final performance only two years later, but thanks to this film here, he is not entirely forgotten. Little Emil gets drugged and sedated by a man in the train to Berlin (actually a pretty dark plot reference for a kids movie) and his briefcase is stole, but thanks to new friends in the city, he manages to turn the thief's live into a true nightmare. I watched the 1930s film a while ago too and I was not impressed by that one either. The only thing better here is obviously the use of color, but in terms of the story and execution I found it just as forgettable. I guess the material is just not for me. I cannot say how close this is to Kästner's original work as I have not read that one. One thing I did not like early on is that Emil gets away with the same "crime" that his friends at school are punished for and this is one reason why I never found the character as likable as they wanted me to find him. Also, what happened to this part of the plot at the very end when he returns home? It's completely absent. And this is not the only part that does not make entirely sense. I know it is a children's book and film and all, but some realism is truly necessary. I did not think this was a good film. Thumbs down.

This movie follows the script of the 1931 version, but stretches it with additional scenes to 90 minutes. I wasn't happy with this movie, since it changes e.g. the whole beginning - we all know how Emil was afraid of going to the police because he had "decorated" a statue in his hometown. Now in this movie he does something completely different, and so at first I didn't even recognize which of the boys was supposed to be Emil. Then the movie adds a love story between Emil's mother and Wachtmeister Jeschke. Erich Kästner actually married them off in his second "Emil"-book, but in the novel neither Emil nor his mother are quite happy with this Vernunftehe (prudent marriage), while in the movie it's all fun and happiness. I also found the dialog somewhat forced, the villain downright stupid and the police festival completely superfluous. Still, the movie gets five points for showing off 1950s Berlin. Notably the modern apartment buildings and the ruin of the Gedächtniskirche make very good backdrops for the storyline. Note how Pony Hütchen asks for the "Interzonenzug" - how nice that we've overcome the zone-era!

A charming Saturday matinée film. As a learner of German I watched it for that purpose, but was well entertained by the plot and action, a children's/family film, it avoids being sickly 'Disney'. Naturally the viewer has the choice of English subtitles.The acting of the children is good. It is quite free and not self-conscious or cool. The scenes of hundreds of children on foot, roller skates and with scooters and bikes, chasing after the 'bad guy' through central Berlin is well directed.The shooting beautifully captures the centre of Berlin in the mid fifties and shows something of life at the time. A visitor to Berlin today would find many of the locations familiar. A lot of the scenes have some really nice shots.Some may find the music a little overpowering at times, but representative of the orchestration of films of the era and therefore fitting.There have been earlier and later film versions. Most recent is 2001. After the remake of Wim Wenders 'Wings of Desire' (Der Himmel Über Berlin) I am a bit reluctant to race out and view the latest version.Watching the post-wall, cooler 'children' of Berlin 2001, using mobile phones and computers in their quest, would have a very different feel to it.In contrast, the 1954 version is set in a post-war Berlin several years before the wall and refreshingly long before it's now just as omnipresent and depressing Graffiti.Have some fun and do your German homework at the same time!

Erich Kastner wrote the story about a young boy who is drugged and robbed of some money which was pinned into his clothing by his mother. He is, of course, horrified, and rather than tell her the truth, he enlists the help of an army of young detectives. It reminds me of the pursuit of the psychotic child killer Peter Lorre in M, 1931. Later remakes are universally boring and tepid.