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Made in Berlin
60 minutes Comedy / Cult
A senator from Michigan, staying at a hotel in Minneapolis, is visited by a woman he believes is Satan and hounded by a desk clerk he thinks is spying on him.
Intended Audience: Mature
Rick Reinhardt, a liberal senator from Michigan, is visited in his Minneapolis hotel room by Ilsa, a femme fatale he met at a fundraiser. Expecting a night of political infidelity, he is instead besieged by hints that Ilsa might be Satan, and is hounded by the night desk clerk, Gordy ... who may or may not work for a dead, conservative political enemy of Rick's. Before the night is through there is murder, kidnapping and a tango!
"Made in Berlin" is a tribute - a darkly satirical tribute - to the so-called "Weimar period" of 1920's Germany, the era of extremism in art, politics and culture, whose center was the city of Berlin. More specifically, it reflects the films of this time, including the works of F. W. Murnau, Fritz Lang and Joseph Von Sternberg.
Elements of Hollywood horror films of the 1930's, many of which were directed by expatriate Germans, also cast a deep, dark shadow on this starkly lit "noir-comedy." Fun is poked at the long-held stereotypes of Germans as brooding and sinister, as expressed by the characters of Ilsa and Gordy, while at the same time being vulgar and overbearing, as personified by Carl and Greta. The German obsessions with joining groups and being clean is illuminated by the organization, "Up With Purity" and it's germ-crazed leader, Otto Haarman.
- Directed by: John Ervin
- Written by: John Ervin
- Produced by: John Ervin
- Run Time: 60 minutes
- Release Date: 1998
-
Country:
United States of America
- Intended Audience: mature
- Website Made in Berlin
Written by John Ervin
Produced by John Ervin
Cast
Shyla Weaver: Terry Mallstrom
Thomas Nordyke: Charlie Harley
Patrick Metzdorff: Norman Kehoe
Dawn Akemi: Jeff Lee
Sarah Phemister: Matt Horsefield
Scott Wacha: Trent Yeoman
Jay Blake: Peter Fairfax
Carolyn Cesario: David
John E. Anger: Caroline Ashley
Jon Springer: James Roach
Jon Springer: James Roach
Ron Johnson: James Roach
Chad Dudycha: James Roach
Nate Hanley: James Roach
Keith Carroll: James Roach
One night, as the crew set up equipment for a scene in one hotel room, I strolled into another where leading lady Shyla Weaver and other castmembers sat. Shyla yawned and said, “I wonder if I should take a nap.”
“Sure,” I said, “There’s plenty of time.”
Looking up at me with piercing eyes, she screamed, “I CAN’T SLEEP HERE!”
I screamed back, “I DIDN’T MEAN HERE! I MEANT AT HOME!”
At this, Shyla leapt out of her chair and spat “We need to talk! Now!”
Out in the hallway, Shyla bellowed, “We’re not trained monkeys! You treat us like trained
monkeys!”
“HOLD IT!” a loud, but calmer, voice interrupted from behind. Shyla turned to see leading man Tom Nordyke racing up to her. He implored, “Why don’t you go back in and get ready. I’ll talk with John.” Shyla stomped back to the room.
As nerve wracking as this experience was, though, I must admit it resulted in great work. During the climactic fight scene we shot that night, Shyla tore a sliding closet door off its hinge