Die Mädels vom Immenhof

This classic of the West German film industry of the 1950s can still be seen regularly on German-language television programs today. Based on the novel DICK UND DALLI UND DIE PONIES by Ursula BRUN, the story is about a pony farm not far from the Holstein Lake District.

The girls Dick (Angelika MEISSNER) and Dalli (Heidi BRÜHL) live with their older sister Angela (Christiane KÖNIG) on the pony farm owned by Grandma Jantzen (Margarete HAAGEN), who is kind-hearted but has terrible money problems. Perhaps the dashing neighbor (Paul KLINGER), who is courting the beautiful Angela, can help out? Things come to a head when the spoiled Ethelbert (Matthias FUCHS) from the big city messes things up at Immenhof...

Beautiful images from northern Germany, singing children and cute ponies: an evergreen film classic was ready. The events behind the scenes are certainly more interesting than the plot. When Christiane KÖNIG fended off the advances of producer Gero WECKER from ARCA FILM, she lost her role in the sequel to the Immenhof series. Instead, Paul Klinger was able to get his own wife Karin ANDERSEN to replace Angela. The West German film industry also had its very early #MeToo cases, of course.

Heidi BRÜHL (1942 - 1991) began her impressive career with this film. With her songs WIR WOLLEN NIEMALS AUSEINANDERGEHN (1960, preliminary round only) and MARCEL (1963), she later wrote herself into the eventful history of the EUROVISION SONG CONTEST. In the 1970s, she had her own show in Las Vegas and, as an adult, made two more Immenhof films.