Editing Oh... Rosalinda!!

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{{Infobox film
| name           = Oh... Rosalinda!!
| image          = Oh Rosalinda poster.jpg
| caption        = theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Michael Powell]]<br />[[Emeric Pressburger]]
| producer       = Michael Powell<br />Emeric Pressburger
| writer         = Michael Powell<br />Emeric Pressburger
| starring       = [[Michael Redgrave]]<br />[[Mel Ferrer]]<br />[[Anthony Quayle]]<br />[[Ludmilla Tchérina]]<br />[[Anton Walbrook]]<br />[[Dennis Price]]<br />[[Anneliese Rothenberger]]
| music          = [[Johann Strauss II|Johann Strauss]] ''(music)''<br />Dennis Arundell ''(lyrics)''
| cinematography = [[Christopher Challis]]
| editing        = [[Reginald Mills]]
| distributor    = [[Associated British Picture Corporation|Associated British–Pathé]]
| released       = {{Film date|df=y|1955|11|18}}
| runtime        = 101 minutes
| country        = United Kingdom
| language       = English
| budget         = £276,328<ref>{{Cite book | author = Kevin Macdonald | authorlink = Kevin Macdonald (director) | title = Emeric Pressburger: The Life and Death of a Screenwriter | page = [https://archive.org/details/emericpressburge00macd/page/354 354] | year = 1994 | publisher = [[Faber and Faber]] | isbn = 978-0-571-16853-8 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/emericpressburge00macd/page/354 }}</ref><ref>Charles Drazin (2014) Film Finances: The First Years, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 34:1, 2-22, DOI: 10.1080/01439685.2014.878999 p 13</ref> or £255,445<ref name="money">Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 359</ref>
| gross          =  £95,833<ref>Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', ''Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television'', Vol 20 No 4, 2000</ref>
}}

'''''Oh... Rosalinda!!'''''  (also known as '''''Die Fledermaus''''' <ref name="BFIsearch">{{Cite web |title=Oh... Rosalinda!! |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150036495 |access-date=26 May 2025 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}</ref>) is a 1955 British [[musical film|musical]] [[comedy film]] by the British director-writer team of [[Powell and Pressburger|Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger]].<ref name="BFIsearch" /> The film stars [[Michael Redgrave]], [[Mel Ferrer]], [[Anthony Quayle]], [[Ludmilla Tchérina]] and [[Anton Walbrook]] and features [[Anneliese Rothenberger]] and [[Dennis Price]].

The film is based on the 1874 operetta ''[[Die Fledermaus]]'' (''The Bat'') by [[Johann Strauss II|Johann Strauss]], but updated to take place in post-war [[Vienna]] as occupied by the four Allied powers: the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the USSR. The music, played by the [[Vienna Symphony Orchestra]] under conductor Alois Melichar,<ref>TCM [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/516232/oh-rosalinda Music]</ref> has new lyrics by [[Dennis Arundell]], and professional singers dubbed for some of the actors. The choreography is by Alfred Rodrigues, and the production was designed by [[Hein Heckroth]].

As the film closes in the early hours at the party at the hotel, Falke points the message to the representatives of the four powers, while thanking them for their presence: "even the dearest friend loses his attraction if he overstays.... so if you don't mind, go home, please go home"; at which the waltz "Brüderlein, Brüderlein und Schwesterlein"/"Brothers, brothers and sisters" ('Be my friend') starts up.<ref name="operawebber">Webber, Christopher. Opera on DVD and blu-ray : Oh ... Rosalinda!!, after Johann Strauss. ''[[Opera (British magazine)|Opera]]'', March 2020, Vol.71 No.3, p392-393.</ref>

''Oh... Rosalinda!!'' is a light-hearted [[Technicolor]] romp that makes full use of the new [[CinemaScope]] process, and is not just a film of a staged production but a filmic operetta.

==Plot==
In 1955 Vienna, [[Allied-occupied Austria|during its post-war occupation]], the black-market dealer Dr. Falke moves freely through the French, British, American and Russian sectors, dealing in champagne and caviar amongst the highest echelons of the allied powers. After a costume party, French Colonel Gabriel Eisenstein plays a practical joke on a drunken Falke, depositing him, asleep and dressed as a bat, in the lap of a patriotic Russian statue, to be discovered the following morning by irate Russian soldiers. Falke is nearly arrested until his friend General Orlofsky of the USSR intervenes. A vengeful Falke plans an elaborate practical joke on his friend, involving Orlofsky, British Major Frank who is sent to escort the French colonel to jail for his misdemeanor, Eisenstein's beautiful wife Rosalinda, her maid Adele and a masked ball where no one is who they seem.

Complicating matters is American Captain Alfred Westerman, an old flame of Rosalinda who is determined to take advantage of her husband's absence, deliberately taking the hotel room next to hers. When Major Frank, arriving to take Eisenstein into custody, catches Alfred in Rosalinda's room, in Eisenstein's dressing gown, he takes Alfred to be Eisenstein and arrests him (Alfred) instead. To avoid scandal, Alfred does nothing to disabuse Frank of his error. Later that evening, at the masked ball hosted by Orlofsky, Adele, wearing one of her mistress's gowns, is spotted by Eisenstein, who is unable to do anything about it (as he is supposed already to be in jail and is attending the ball only with the connivance of Orlofsky, at Falke's instigation) and she catches the eye of both Orlofsky and Frank. When the masked Rosalinda arrives, Eisenstein pursues her but she flees with his watch – which Falke slyly tells him will reappear again at his home.

At midnight, Eisenstein presents himself at the jail but when he finds Alfred there, still in his (Eisenstein's) dressing gown, he (Eisenstein) realizes that Alfred must have been courting Rosalinda at their hotel, so he rushes back there to confront her, followed by Alfred and Frank, the mistaken identity having been uncovered. She retorts by showing him the watch he had given her at the ball, and he begs forgiveness. All this is overhead by the rest of Orlofsky's party guests (who have all found their way back to the hotel) and Falke admits that he was behind the charade. As all sing and dance, Alfred allows himself to be re-arrested in Eisenstein's place.

==Cast==
{| width="67%"
|-
| width="50%" valign="top" |
*[[Anthony Quayle]] as General Orlovsky
*[[Anton Walbrook]] as Dr. Falke
*[[Dennis Price]] as Major Frank
*[[Ludmilla Tchérina]] as Rosalinda
*[[Michael Redgrave]] as Colonel Eisenstein
*[[Mel Ferrer]] as Captain Alfred Westerman
*[[Anneliese Rothenberger]] as Adele
*[[Oskar Sima]] as Frosch
*[[Richard Marner]] as Colonel Lebotov
*Nicholas Bruce as hotel receptionist
*[[Arthur Mullard]] as Russian guard

'''Singing voices:'''<ref name="operawebber">Webber, Christopher. Opera on DVD and blu-ray : Oh ... Rosalinda!!, after Johann Strauss. ''[[Opera (British magazine)|Opera]]'', March 2020, Vol.71 No.3, p392-393.</ref>
*[[Sári Barabás]] as Rosalinda
*[[Alexander Young (tenor)|Alexander Young]] as Captain Alfred
*[[Denis Dowling]] as Major Frank
*[[Walter Berry (bass-baritone)|Walter Berry]] as Dr. Falke
|}

'''Cast notes:'''
Among the ladies, gentlemen and dancers of the cast were [[John Schlesinger]], [[Peter Darrell]], [[Joyce Blair]] and [[Jill Ireland]].<ref>BFI's Screenonline - full cast list.</ref> On some websites [[Roy Kinnear]] is listed in the cast, no role specified,<ref>{{IMDb title|0048441}}</ref><ref>TCM [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/516232/oh-rosalinda Full credits]</ref><ref>Allmovie [http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:133331~T2 Cast]</ref> but not on the BFI Screenonline page.

==Production==
''Oh... Rosalinda'' was filmed at [[Elstree Studios (Shenley Road)|Elstree Studios]] in [[Borehamwood]], Hertfordshire, and on location in London.<ref>IMDb [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048441/locations Filming locations]</ref>

Powell and Pressburger had suffered through four box office disappointments in a row before this film, which is one reason that [[Bing Crosby]], [[Maurice Chevalier]] and [[Orson Welles]] were approached about playing the roles of Alfred, Eisenstein and Orlovsky – and ''Oh... Rosalinda!!'' too was not commercially successful.<ref>Angelini, Sergio [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/459967/index.html Oh...Rosalinda!! (BFI Screen Online)]</ref> Arundell had already worked with Powell and Pressburger, providing a translation for the film ''[[The Tales of Hoffmann (film)|The Tales of Hoffmann]]''.<ref>[[Rodney Milnes|Milnes, Rodney]]. Obituary - Dennis Arundell. ''Opera'', February 1989, Vol.40 No.2, p148-149.</ref> A reviewer of the 2019 Network British Film DVD restoration however notes Heckroth's “stagey expressionism”, “dazzling cinematography aplenty”, and suggests that it prefigures “political operetta deconstructions” of more recent years.<ref name="operawebber"/>

Several of the singing cast would later appear on stage and record in the original piece; Rothenberger and Barabás together sang in excerpts from the operetta for [[Electrola]] around the time of the film, and Rothenberger made further full recordings under [[Heinrich Hollreiser|Hollreiser]] (1960), [[Oskar Danon|Danon]] (1964) and [[Willi Boskovsky|Boskovsky]] (1971), for the latter switching to Rosalinde.<ref name="operadis"/> Walter Berry made five recordings of ''Fledermaus'' - singing Frank (1959, 1964, 1971) and Falke (1960, video 1980).<ref name="operadis">[https://www.operadis-opera-discography.org.uk/CLIIFLED.HTM - CAPON'S LISTS OF OPERA RECORDINGS (CLOR) 74 recordings of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauß II] accessed 3 March 2020.</ref> Walbrook had played Strauss in ''[[Walzerkrieg]]'' in 1933, and in ''[[Vienna Waltzes (film)|Wiener Walzer]]'' in 1951, both German-language films.

A record of musical excerpts derived from the soundtrack of the film was issued on [[Nixa Records|Nixa]] LP NLP 18001.<ref>[[Alan Blyth|Blyth, Alan]]. Opera on the Gramophone: 42 - Die Fledermaus. ''Opera'', January 1978, Vol.29 No.1, p29.</ref>

A restoration from the 35mm CinemaScope original camera negative was undertaken prior to a Blu-ray and DVD re-issue in 2019; this included automated and manual dirt and damage removal and correction of instability, warping and density fluctuation.<ref>Remastering notes on package insert for Network 7958181 'Oh... Rosalinda!!', 2019.</ref>

==Reception==
''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote: "A light and amusing idea – to set ''Die Fledermaus'' in modern Vienna – is here trampled under elephantine treatment. The plot loses itself in hopeless convolutions; the presentation of songs and comedy alike is wearily heavy; the design is a scrapbook of a sort of Teutonic House-and-Garden contemporary. Three artists emerge with credit – Anton Walbrook (who is particularly clever in his delivery of the prologue to the film), Anneliese Rothenberger, as a very jolly Adele, and Anthony Quayle as the Russian general – while Michael Redgrave capers with, one feels, more goodwill than enjoyment. Redgrave, Rothenberger and Quayle sing their own parts with accomplishment; the other roles are dubbed with varying success. The music (with admirable new lyrics by Dennis Arundell) is well performed by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and survives with the charm of its melodies intact."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1956 |title=Oh... Rosalinda!! |volume=23 |issue=264 |pages=4 |id={{ProQuest|1305827560}} |magazine=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]}}</ref>

''[[Kine Weekly]]'' wrote: "The piquant trifle, which incidentally makes sport of power politics without generating heat, is not only flawlessly acted by its international all-star cast, but also brilliantly sung and magnificently staged. Vintage champagne, bottled in England, it should delight the palate of connoisseur and ninepenny alike.&nbsp;... The picture creates convincing Continental atmosphere and moves with a merry swing from start to finish."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=17 November 1955 |title=Oh... Rosalinda!! |volume=464 |issue=2525 |pages=16 |id={{ProQuest|2738580417}} |magazine=[[Kine Weekly]]}}</ref>

''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote: "Anthony Quayle supplies the requisite sombre touch to the character of the Russian officer who mellows under the influence of champagne and dames. Dennis Price makes a striking contrast as his British counterpart, Anneliese Rothenberger sings and acts vivaciously as the truant lady's maid and the other singing roles are competently handled. Camerawork is artistic and the direction is suitably adjusted to the picturebook atmosphere and satirical vein."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=30 November 1955 |title=Oh... Rosalinda!! |volume=200 |issue=13 |pages=6 |id={{ProQuest|963023166}} |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

[[Leslie Halliwell]] wrote "Lumbering attempt to modernise ''Die Fledermaus'', unsuitably wide-screen and totally lacking the [[Ernst Lubitsch|Lubitsch]] touch. A monumental step in the decline of these producers, and a sad stranding of a brilliant cast."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Halliwell |first=Leslie |title=Halliwell's Film Guide |publisher=Paladin |year=1989 |isbn=0586088946 |edition=7th |location=London |pages=748}}</ref>

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{reflist}}

'''Further reading'''
* {{cite web |url=http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/55_OR |title=Oh... Rosalinda!!}} Reviews and articles at a website devoted to Powell & Pressburger.
* {{cite journal |title=Oh Boy! Oh Rosalinda!! and The Boy Who Turned Yellow |last=Cairns |first=David |journal=Senses of Cinema |issue=36 |date=July–September 2005 |url=http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2005/cteq/rosalinda_boy_yellow/ }} Sympathetic review of ''Oh... Rosalinda!!'' in the context of all films by Powell and Pressburger.

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0048441}}
* {{TCMDb title|516232}}
* {{Screenonline title|459967|Oh... Rosalinda!!}}. Full synopsis and film stills (and clips viewable from UK libraries).

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{{Powell and Pressburger}}
{{Die Fledermaus}}

[[Category:1955 musical comedy films]]
[[Category:1955 films]]
[[Category:West German films]]
[[Category:Films shot at Associated British Studios]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films based on Die Fledermaus]]
[[Category:Operetta films]]
[[Category:Films by Powell and Pressburger]]
[[Category:Films set in Vienna]]
[[Category:British musical comedy films]]
[[Category:German musical comedy films]]
[[Category:CinemaScope films]]
[[Category:1950s British films]]
[[Category:1950s German films]]
[[Category:English-language musical comedy films]]