During The Netherlands Film Festival, we join with our little The Netherlands Film Star Postcard Festival. The 38th edition of NFF takes place from 27 September till 5 October 2018, and celebrates the achievements of Dutch filmmakers. We salute Op Stap/On the Road (1935), a Dutch musical comedy film directed by Ernst Winar. Star of the film is Fien de la Mar, the only diva of the Dutch cinema of the 1930s.
Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Nationaal Film. Publicity still of Fien(tje) de la Mar in Op stap/On the Move (Ernst Winar, 1935).
Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Nationaal Film. Publicity still for Op stap/On the Move (Ernst Winar, 1935) with Henriëtte Davids and Jopie Koopman.
In Op stap/On the Road (1935), Louis Davids plays Janus Fortuin, a goodhearted piano tuner and song writer who sees life with mild mockery. He lives poor but satisfied with wife (Henriëtte Davids) and daughter Polly (Jopie Koopman) in the south of Amsterdam. Janus has accepted that he will never amount to anything more. But he still hopes his daughter's fiancé George (Frits van Dongen) will be more successful as a songwriter.
When rich uncle Barend (Adolphe Engers) from Batavia makes a surprise visit. The family does not rrecognise him and he immediately realises that Janus' wife is a greedy landlady. Barend pretends to be a lodger called 'Van Santen' and moves into the Fortuin home.
Barend brings the family in contact with the singer and film star Bella Ramona (Fien de la Mar), which leads to the necessary misunderstandings. Moreover, there is confusion around false checks.
At the end everything is fine: Barend leaves Schiphol for Batavia and George has a hit with his song 'Op stap'. And Janus Fortuin? He is as poor as ever and sings full-length: "Als je voor een dubbeltje geboren bent, bereik je nooit een kwartje" (If you are born for a dime, you never reach a quarter).
Director of the film was the little known Dutch actor Ernst Winar, who appeared in 34 films between 1916 and 1955, in The Netherlands and as well in Germany. From 1921 on, Winar was also active as a director and he made 14 films between 1922 and 1955. In the 1960s he was the editor of the first, short films of Paul Verhoeven.
Both Jewish cabaretier Louis Davids and his sister Henriette Davids were popular revue artists in the Netherlands. Frits van Dongen would become an international film stars who continued his career first in Germany and later n Hollywood as Philip Dorn. Fien de la Mar is the glamorous star of this film, and one of the highlights of the films is her song Een Schlager gaat op stap, in which she is accompanied by twelve pianists.
The story of the film was based on an idea of songwriter Jacques van Tol, who also wrote several of the songs. Van Tol was the main lyricist for Louis Davids. Before the Second World War, Van Tol already sympathised with the Dutch Nazi Party, the NSB. Louis Davids died in 1939, Henriette survived the holocaust in hiding, van Tol became during the war, using the alias 'Paulus de Ruiter' the principal writer for the infamous nazi-oriented 'Paulus de Ruiter-cabaret' on Dutch radio. He even rewrote his song De klein man (The little man), originally sung by Louis Davids, with new fully antisemitic lyrics.
After the war Jacques van Tol was arrested and sentenced to prison for a few years, because of his cooperation with the Nazis. After his release he started writing songs again, never using his own name. Van Tol even wrote the farewell song for Henriëtte Davids. Though he had been writing songs for more than 50 years, Van Tol never became famous. When he was writing for Op stap about 'being born for a dime', he must have realised he was describing his own life.
Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Nationaal Film. Publicity still for Op stap/On the Move (Ernst Winar, 1935) with Louis Davids, the dog Rik and Adolphe Engers.
Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Nationaal Film. Publicity still for Op stap/On the Move (Ernst Winar, 1935) with Fien de la Mar and Frits van Dongen.
Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Nationaal Film. Publicity still for Op stap/On the Move (Ernst Winar, 1935) with Henriëtte Davids, Adolphe Engers and Jopie Koopman.
Sources: Sybrand Bakker (IMDb), Eye (Dutch), Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.
Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Nationaal Film. Publicity still of Fien(tje) de la Mar in Op stap/On the Move (Ernst Winar, 1935).
Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Nationaal Film. Publicity still for Op stap/On the Move (Ernst Winar, 1935) with Henriëtte Davids and Jopie Koopman.
Surprises and misunderstandings
In Op stap/On the Road (1935), Louis Davids plays Janus Fortuin, a goodhearted piano tuner and song writer who sees life with mild mockery. He lives poor but satisfied with wife (Henriëtte Davids) and daughter Polly (Jopie Koopman) in the south of Amsterdam. Janus has accepted that he will never amount to anything more. But he still hopes his daughter's fiancé George (Frits van Dongen) will be more successful as a songwriter.
When rich uncle Barend (Adolphe Engers) from Batavia makes a surprise visit. The family does not rrecognise him and he immediately realises that Janus' wife is a greedy landlady. Barend pretends to be a lodger called 'Van Santen' and moves into the Fortuin home.
Barend brings the family in contact with the singer and film star Bella Ramona (Fien de la Mar), which leads to the necessary misunderstandings. Moreover, there is confusion around false checks.
At the end everything is fine: Barend leaves Schiphol for Batavia and George has a hit with his song 'Op stap'. And Janus Fortuin? He is as poor as ever and sings full-length: "Als je voor een dubbeltje geboren bent, bereik je nooit een kwartje" (If you are born for a dime, you never reach a quarter).
Director of the film was the little known Dutch actor Ernst Winar, who appeared in 34 films between 1916 and 1955, in The Netherlands and as well in Germany. From 1921 on, Winar was also active as a director and he made 14 films between 1922 and 1955. In the 1960s he was the editor of the first, short films of Paul Verhoeven.
Both Jewish cabaretier Louis Davids and his sister Henriette Davids were popular revue artists in the Netherlands. Frits van Dongen would become an international film stars who continued his career first in Germany and later n Hollywood as Philip Dorn. Fien de la Mar is the glamorous star of this film, and one of the highlights of the films is her song Een Schlager gaat op stap, in which she is accompanied by twelve pianists.
The story of the film was based on an idea of songwriter Jacques van Tol, who also wrote several of the songs. Van Tol was the main lyricist for Louis Davids. Before the Second World War, Van Tol already sympathised with the Dutch Nazi Party, the NSB. Louis Davids died in 1939, Henriette survived the holocaust in hiding, van Tol became during the war, using the alias 'Paulus de Ruiter' the principal writer for the infamous nazi-oriented 'Paulus de Ruiter-cabaret' on Dutch radio. He even rewrote his song De klein man (The little man), originally sung by Louis Davids, with new fully antisemitic lyrics.
After the war Jacques van Tol was arrested and sentenced to prison for a few years, because of his cooperation with the Nazis. After his release he started writing songs again, never using his own name. Van Tol even wrote the farewell song for Henriëtte Davids. Though he had been writing songs for more than 50 years, Van Tol never became famous. When he was writing for Op stap about 'being born for a dime', he must have realised he was describing his own life.
Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Nationaal Film. Publicity still for Op stap/On the Move (Ernst Winar, 1935) with Louis Davids, the dog Rik and Adolphe Engers.
Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Nationaal Film. Publicity still for Op stap/On the Move (Ernst Winar, 1935) with Fien de la Mar and Frits van Dongen.
Dutch postcard by M.B. & Z. (M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam). Photo: Dick van Maarseveen, Den Haag / Nationaal Film. Publicity still for Op stap/On the Move (Ernst Winar, 1935) with Henriëtte Davids, Adolphe Engers and Jopie Koopman.
Sources: Sybrand Bakker (IMDb), Eye (Dutch), Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.
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