Herr Puntila and His Servant Matti
6.3
This first film adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s play about class distinctions was made in 1955 in the Vienna Rosenhügel studios, but it was only premiered five years later. Curt Bois plays the rich capitalist Puntila who only becomes somewhat agreeable when he is drunk (which he is most of the time in this film). In his inebriated state, Puntila not only gets amorously involved with three different ladies but also suggests that his daughter Eva marries his chauffeur Matti. The chauffeur, however, doesn’t really agree…
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Cast
32 people
Curt Bois
Johannes Puntila
Known for
Wings of Desire
Casablanca
Heinz Engelmann
Matti Altonen
Known for
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Bertolt Brecht
Alberto Cavalcanti
Heinrich Bauer
Maria Emo
Eva Puntila
Also in
Hitler
The Girl from the Marsh Croft
Hella Wuolijoki
Also in
Finland Honours the Memory of Lenin
Herbert Kollmann
Erika Pelikowsky
Sandra
Also in
Karl Marx. Early Years
Daniel Druskat
Vladimir Pozner
Also in
Tour de France
Eye of God
Inge Holzleitner
Fina
No other roles listed
Dorothea Neff
Pröpstin
Also in
Francesca
Praterbuben
Alberto Cavalcanti Director · Hella Wuolijoki Story Bertolt Brecht Author
First release July 29, 1956 · Produced in Germany, Austria · Production Heinrich Bauer-Film
Production
Wien-Film
Production
Heinrich Bauer-Film
Production
Germany · Austria
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Herr Puntila und sein Knecht Matti
Original language
German
Spoken on screen
German
Release dates
Slovakia · July 29, 1956
Karlovy Vary Film Festival
Germany · October 21, 1960
Theatrical · West Germany
No release date listed for United States.
Brazil
October 19, 2002 · Premiere · São Paulo International Film Festival
September 27, 2026 · Limited theatrical · Cinemateca Brasileira (Retrospectiva "O Brasileiro Alberto Cavalcanti")
Germany
December 10, 1965 · Theatrical · East Germany
Greece
December 27, 2012 · Theatrical
XC
July 29, 1956 · Premiere · Karlovy Vary Film Festival
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Some details come from TheTVDB.