Romeo und Julia im Schnee

Alternative title: Romeo and Juliet in the Snow
Synopsis: Fiction short. A burlesque of Romeo and Juliet set in Garmisch, in the Bavarian Mountains. The family feud between the Kapulethofers and the Montekugers (leading to several snowball fights) is initiated by an unsatisfactory trial verdict, passed by the local judge (whom both families attempted to bribe with a sausage). When Romeo returns from military service Julia falls in love with him. Faced with the parents opposition to this match (Juliet’s father threatens to cut of Julia’s hair), the couple decide to kill themselves with poison they buy from the local apothecary. Finding that the poison doesn’t work, they nevertheless pretend to be dead when the worried parents arrive at the farm shed. Using their parents sorrow to their advantage, the lovers declare their intent to marry and the story has a happy ending.
Country: Germany
Medium: Film
Technical information: Black-and-white / Silent
Year of release: 1920
Duration: 35 mins; 3162 feet

Director

Ernst Lubitsch

Producer

Maxim Galitzenstein; Paul Ebner

Cinematographer

Theodor Sparkuhl

Screenplay

Ernst Lubitsch; Hanns Kräly

Cast

Lotte Neumann	Julia (Romeo)
Gustav von Wangenheim	Romeo (Juliet)
Ernst Rückert	Montekugerl (Montague)
Jacob Tiedtke	Capulethofer (Capulet)
Josefine Dora	Frau Montekugerl (Lady Montague)
Julius Falkenstein	Paris
Marga Köhler	Frau Capulethofer (Lady Capulet)
Paul Biensfeldt	Local judge (Escalus, Prince of Verona)

Notes: A filmscript is available at the DIF Film Library in Frankfurt am Main.
History: The film premiered on 28 March 1920 in Berlin.

British Universities Film & Video Council