Fusilier Wipf (German: Füsilier Wipf) is a 1938 Swiss drama film directed by Hermann Haller and Leopold Lindtberg and starring Paul Hubschmid, Heinrich Gretler and Robert Trösch. Adapted from Robert Faesi’s 1917 novella, it follows a hairdresser’s assistant conscripted during the First World War who matures into a thoughtful and responsible person. The film was one of Praesens-Film’s Swiss German productions associated with Switzerland’s geistige Landesverteidigung. It drew 1.25 million admissions in Switzerland, making it one of the country’s most successful films of the period.
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Synopsis
During the First World War, a young Swiss hairdresser’s assistant is conscripted into military service during the border occupation and matures into a thoughtful and responsible person. After returning from military service, he changes his life, breaks off his engagement to his master’s daughter, and moves to the countryside with a farmer’s daughter.
Cast
The cast includes:
Paul Hubschmid as Reinhold Wipf
Heinrich Gretler as Leu
Robert Trösch as Meisterhans
Zarli Carigiet as Schatzli
Max Werner Lenz as Hungerbühler
Wolfgang Heinz as Czech refugee
Sigfrit Steiner as Oberleutnant
Erwin Kalser as Herr Godax
Lisa Della Casa as Vreneli
Emil Hegetschweiler as Coiffeur Wiederkehr
Elsie Attenhofer as Rosa Wiederkehr
Alfred Rasser as Notar Schnurrenberger
Production
The film was adapted from Robert Faesi’s 1917 novella Füsilier Wipf. Faesi’s novella has been described as associated with Switzerland’s geistige Landesverteidigung.
Release and reception
The film drew 1.25 million admissions in Switzerland after its 1938 release, at a time when the country had a population of about 4.2 million. It was also one of the five most successful Swiss films released between 1938 and 1943
On 24 January 1939, Fusilier Wipf was screened in Paris at the Maison de la Chimie for the benefit of Swiss charitable works. Guests then attended a reception at the new Swiss legation hosted by Minister Walter Stucki and his wife.