Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 1 win & 2 nominations total

Photos

Top cast73

Edit

Gert Fröbe

Otto Normalverbraucher

Tatjana Sais

Frau Ida Holle

Ute Sielisch

Eva Wandel, Bäuerin

Aribert Wäscher

Anton Zeithammer

O.E. Hasse

Der Reaktionär

Hans Deppe

Emil Lemke

Werner Oehlschlaeger

Raisonneur
(as Werner Oehlschläger)

Erik Ode

Narrator
(voice)

Karl Schönböck

Rundfunkreporter

Herbert Hübner

Herr Bollmann, politischer Redner

Alfred Schieske

Herr Schneidewind, Politischer Redner

Herbert Weissbach

Spirituosenhändler

Kurt Weitkamp

Einbrecher

Franz-Otto Krüger

Einbrecher Franz

Henry Morgan

Narrator (US version)

Frank Arlett

Getränkekellner
(uncredited)

Valy Arnheim

Amerikanischer Politiker
(uncredited)

Walter Bechmann

2. Berliner Beamter
(uncredited)

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
The name of the main character ("Otto Normalverbraucher") became a idiomatic phrase in German for a absolutely average, normal person, in a positive sense.

Connections
Referenced in Ganz Berlin lacht sich kaputt: Wie die 'Berliner Ballade' entstand (2020)

Soundtracks
Kopf hoch, die Sache wird schon schiefgeh'n
Written by Günter Neumann
Performed by Gert Fröbe

A satiric look at life in postwar Berlin

Life among the ruins of Berlin, centered around Mister Averageman. Topics include the black market, ration coupons and the difficulty of getting work.

Often feels like cabaret sketches opened up by location shooting. The ruins are impressive, and the sequence among the ruins of statues is perhaps the most interesting.