The delightful Johann Strauss comic opera Die Fledermaus was mercilessly lampooned in this truly bizarre production. For starters, a framing device has been added: After appearing in 300 consecutive appearances of Fledermaus (which translates as The Bat) the lead tenor (Georg Alexander) imagines that he's seeing bats everywhere. Driven a bit over the edge by all this, he falls asleep and has a nightmare about the opera, with a group of non-singers cast in the leading roles. The original libretto about romantic assignations, political imprisonments and mistaken identity is burlesqued to the hilt: at one point, the hero finds out that his prison cell is surrounded by rubber tubes!
Paul Verhoeven | Director |
Richard Genée | Writer |
Carl Haffner | Writer |
Lotte Neumann | Writer |
Gerhard Staab | Producer |
Bruno Mondi | Cinematography |
Walter Wassermann | Writer |
Hans H. Zerlett | Director |