Captain Roughneck from St. Pauli:

In “Käpt’n Rauhbein aus St. Pauli” (English Title: Captain Roughneck from St. Pauli ), Captain Markus Jolly (Curd Jürgens) plunges into involuntary adventures: he not only sets sails into the South Seas, but also tries to put a gang of gangsters over his knee who have stolen urgently needed medication. Always at his side: his boatswain, Oliver Kniehase (Heinz Reincke), never at a loss for a clearly ambiguous quip.

Summary

Captain Markus Jolly is an old warhorse and has sailed all the oceans. Because of his often gruff manner, his friends call him Captain Roughneck. One of only a few real friends is his boatswain Oliver. Now, after a long voyage, they both arrive back in Hamburg earlier than expected. Markus Jolly would like to surprise his wife and does not report back immediately. When he arrives home, he finds his wife in bed with someone else. He wants to leave her immediately. When he leaves the apartment, his wife runs after him. But he pushes her away, and she stumbles and breaks through the ramshackle stair railing and falls. She remains dead in the downstairs hallway.

In court, Jolly is acquitted because the matter is ruled an accident. Jolly looks for his boatman Oliver and both immediately take on a new assignment. An epidemic has broken out on an island in the Caribbean. Jolly is now to bring the urgently needed vaccine to the island. So Captain Jolly sets sail again with the important cargo of vaccine and other goods, including a large quantity of alcohol.

Arriving in the Caribbean, they dock in the harbor of the small island of Puerto Negro. Here, total chaos reigns. The island is ruled by a gang of gangsters. The police are corrupt and commanded by the gangsters. Immediately after the cargo is unloaded, it is stolen and the theft is blamed on Captain Jolly and boatswain Oliver Kniehase. Both are arrested and the ship is confiscated. In prison, Oliver, who resisted arrest, is cared for by the doctor Dr. Andersen. She is then arrested and taken away, together with her helpers (doctors and nurses). They were supposed to be carrying out the vaccination campaign. Jolly and Kniehase manage to escape from prison. They find shelter in the doss house of Jolly’s old buddy, Nico. They discuss how to proceed.

Jolly signs on as a steward on a luxury liner. He immediately attracts the attention of the snobby and super-rich passengers because of his poor behavior. However, when he takes a fat, black tarantula off the belly of a totally terrified old lady and disposes of it in the sea, he suddenly becomes the passengers’ hero.

At their insistence, the ship docks at a certain spot on the island and Jolly is able to disembark. Here he meets his boatswain again and together they want to free Dr. Andersen and her team from the hands of the gangsters. Captain Markus Jolly is totally surprised when he finds out who is the boss behind the gang of criminals…

Production history

The film was shot in Hamburg and in Porto. Johanna von Koczian, top female star of the 50s and 60s, shot her last feature film here. After that she only acted for television. The Encyclopedia of International Film says: “Colportage story with a clear tendency to depict brutalities”.

Original title: Käpt’n Rauhbein aus St. Pauli

Director: Rolf Olsen

Screenplay: Rolf Olsen

Actors: Curd Jürgens, Heinz Reincke, Johanna von Koczian, Herbert Fleischmann, Sieghardt Rupp, Elisabeth Flickenschildt, Angelika Ott, Christine Schuberth, Ilse Peternell, Fritz Tillmann, Gerhart Lippert, Friedrich Joloff, Rolf Olsen, Emilio Schuberth, James Graser, Poldo Bendandi, Beryl Cunningham, Gerda-Maria Jürgens, Giulio Marchetti, Lenka Novak, Janine Reynaud, Bill Vanders

Producer: Heinz Willeg, Samuel M. Sherman

Camera: Franz Xaver Lederle

Editing: Renate Willeg

Music: Gert Wilden

 

Production Companies: Terra-Filmkunst, Allianz Filmproduktion

Production Year: 1971

Genres: Adventure

Country: Germany

Language: German

Dubbing: Italian, German

Location: Puerto Rico

Length: 91 min

FSK: 16

Aspect ratio: 1.66 : 1

Sound Mix: Mono

Resolution: Full HD (new 4K scanning)

Other titles:

German: Käpt´n Rauhbein aus St. Pauli

Canada: Captain Typhoon

French: Un ours mal léché

Greek: Kaftes nyhtes stin agria zougla

Film label: U8 Films Berlin

Theatrical release: August 26, 1971

Mediabook (Blu-Ray+DVD): October 14th, 2022

DVD & Blu-Ray: October 14th, 2022

About director Rolf Olsen

Rolf Olsen was a multi-talented film director. Born Rudolf Knoblich in Vienna on December 26, 1919, this all-rounder worked as a screenwriter, actor and director during his long and successful film career. For many films he always did this simultaneously. In this film, too, he wrote the screenplay, directed and also acted in the role of a coroner. Rolf Olsen was a workaholic! He worked on about 100 films and television productions from 1947 to 1990. Olsen was a master of all genres. Whether comedy, drama, crime or horror, Olsen could do it all. Rolf Olsen succumbed to cancer in Starnberg on April 3, 1998.

Filmography (excerpt)

1963 The last ride to Santa Cruz  | Der letzte Ritt nach Santa Cruz
1964 Legend of a Gunfighter | Heiß weht der Wind
1966  (lit.) In Frankfurt the nights are hot  | In Frankfurt sind die Nächte heiß
1968 The Doctor from St. Pauli | Der Arzt von St. Pauli
1969 On the Reeperbahn at Half Past Midnight  | Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb eins
1970 That Can’t Shake Our Willi!  | Das kann doch unser´n Willi nicht erschüttern
The Priest of St. Pauli | Der Pfarrer von St. Pauli
1977 (lit.) Journey into the Afterlife (documentary film) | Reise ins Jenseits (Dokumentarfilm)
1988 (lit.) Strong Times | Starke Zeiten

About Curd Jürgens

Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens was born on December 13, 1915 in Solln near Munich. He was a German theater and film actor, with French roots on his mother’s side. He grew up in Berlin. Curd Jürgens worked as a journalist after graduating from school and attended an acting school on the side. In 1935 he presented himself at UFA and was promptly hired. During the Nazi era, he appeared in 19 motion pictures. Jürgens was apolitical in his youth. Nevertheless, he always expressed his opinion critically and without fear of the state power. In 1944, this attitude almost became his undoing, because he got into a fight with a couple of SS men in a pub in Vienna without knowing their identity. They were the brother of Gestapo chief Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Robert Kaltenbrunner, SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny and an associate of Baldur von Schirach. Jürgens was arrested and locked up in a labor camp, from where, however, he managed to escape after a short time and went into hiding.

After the end of the war, he became artistic director of the theater in Straubing. Curd Jürgens then applied to the Burgtheater in Vienna and was accepted. In order to join a tour to Switzerland, he took Austrian citizenship, because Germans were not allowed to enter Switzerland from Austria. In the 60s and 70s he was a supporter of Willy Brandt, whom he also knew well personally and met often. Curd Jürgens was married five times, including to the famous actress Eva Bartok. He was considered one of the most attractive men in Germany. Brigitte Bardot called him a “Norman closet.” The tabloid Bild voted him second among men “with the greatest sex appeal”. Curd Jürgens earned very well in his acting life. He afforded himself several residences – wherever it was beautiful, sunny and expensive. He once said that he could not do without luxury. His hobby of driving expensive luxury cars also proved this statement. Curd Jürgens was a bon vivant. He loved to eat, drink and smoke well and lavishly. The consequence of this lifestyle was several heart operations. In 1981 he played his last big role as a rich lawyer in the big Russian film production “Tehran 43“. Shortly after the end of filming, Curd Jürgens died of multiple organ failure in Vienna on June 18, 1982. He was unable to complete the German version of the film, in which he had been scheduled to do his own dubbing.

Filmography (excerpt)

1937 To New Shores | Zu neuen Ufern
1954  (lit.) My father’s horses | Meines Vaters Pferde
1955 The Devil’s General | Des Teufels General
1956 And God Created Woman  | Und immer lockt das Weib
Michel Strogoff | Der Kurier des Zaren
The House of Intrigue | London ruft Nordpol
1957 The Enemy Below | Duell im Atlantik
1958 Me and the Colonel | Jakubowsky und der Oberst
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness | Die Herberge zur 6. Glückseligkeit
Schinderhannes
1959 Magnificent Sinner | Katja, die ungekrönte Kaiserin
1960 Brainwashed / Chess Novella | Schachnovelle
Gustav Adolf’s Page
1962
The Longest Day | Der längste Tag
1963
Miracle of the White Stallions  | Die Flucht der weißen Hengste
1968
The Doctor of St. Pauli |  Der Arzt von St. Pauli
1969 Battle of Britain | Luftschlacht um England
1977 The Spy Who Loved Me | James Bond 007 – Der Spion der mich liebte
1978 (lit) Beautiful Gigolo, Poor Gigolo | Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo
1980 Hallo, Checkpoint Charlie | Warum die UFOs unseren Salat klauen
1981 Teheran 43

About Heinz Reincke

Heinz Franz Ludwig Reincke was born on 28.5.1925 in Kiel. Already as a child the desire developed in him to become an actor. He completed an apprenticeship at the chamber of commerce in Kiel and took acting lessons on the side. The Kiel City Theater initially hired him as a prompter and extra. Until 1955, he played at various theaters in Germany and neighboring countries. In 1955, Gustaf Gründgens brought him to the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg. For 10 years he played major character roles there. From 1968 to 1985 he was a member of the ensemble of the Burgtheater in Vienna.

Reincke also appeared in various feature films. His special love, however, was television. He made a name for himself primarily as a series actor. He became known to a wide television audience with his role as a pastor in the TV series “Der Landarzt” from 1987 to 2010. He also appeared in television series such as “Hotel Sacher,” “Ein verrücktes Paar,” “Der Alte,” “Derrick,” “Schwarzwaldklinik,” “Zwei Münchner in Hamburg,” “Großstadtrevier” and other series. Because of his distinctive voice, he was also a sought-after narrator for radio plays, dubbing and audio books. His most significant speaking role was in the film “The Neverending Story,” as the voice of the dragon Falkor. Reincke, who loved playing the role of the edgy North German, however, lived in Vienna with his wife Elfi Petsch since 1968. He died of lung cancer in Purkersdorf near Vienna on July 13, 2011. Heinz Reincke, who had already been an Austrian citizen since 1970, is buried in Vienna’s Central Cemetery.

Filmography (excerpt)

1957 Confessions of Felix Krull | Bekenntnisse der Hochstaplers Felix Krull
1958 (lit.) Wet Asphalt | Nasser Asphalt
1960 Faust
1962 The Longest Day | Der längste Tag
1968 The Doctor of St. Paul | Der Arzt von St. Pauli
1968  The Bridge at Remagen | Die Brücke von Remagen
1970
The Priest of St. Pauli | Der Pfarrer von St. Pauli
1971  (lit.) They called him Krambambuli | Sie nannten ihn Krambambuli
1973 The Flying Classroom | Das fliegende Klassenzimmer

(lit) The Lord of Barmbeck | Der Lord von Barmbeck

1984
The Neverending Story (Voice of the Dragon Falkor) | Die unendliche Geschichte (Stimme des Drachen Fuchur)

About Johanna von Koczian

Johanna von Koczian-Miskolczy is the daughter of a Berlin noble family and was born in Berlin on October 30, 1933. She studied acting at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and began acting in the early 1950s. From 1951 she had a permanent engagement at the Salzburg Festival. In the following years, she appeared mainly in musicals because of her singing talent. In 1955 she was discovered for the film. In films such as “Wir Wunderkinder“, for the role in this film she received the Federal Film Award and the Film Critics’ Prize, as well as in the films “Bezaubernde Arabella“, “Jacqueline“, “Heldinnen” and “Single Bells” she played leading roles, for which she received much praise and recognition. She was also awarded prizes for her great performances on the theater stage. She received the Berlin Art Award, the Golden Mask and three times the Golden Curtain.

She is best known to today’s audiences as an actress in various television series. She played the leading roles in the ARD series “Stewardessen“, “Café Wernicke“, “Die Landärztin” and especially in “Praxis Bülowbogen“. She made several individual appearances in the ZDF series “Der Kommissar“, “Das Traumschiff, “Derrick” and “Da kommt Kalle“. On ARD she can be seen in individual episodes of the series “Tatort“, “In aller Freundschaft” and “Unter weißen Segeln“. Johanna von Koczian made her last stage appearance to date in 2010 in Berlin. In 1977, she landed a top hit as a singer with the satirical hit “Das bisschen Haushalt.” She is also a successful writer, especially in children’s and youth literature. The novel “Das Geheimnis einer Vollmondnacht” was made into a film.

Johanna von Koczian was married twice. In the 1960s in a short marriage with the film director Dietrich Haugk and then with the music producer Wolf Kabitzky, who died in 2004. Today Johanna von Koczian lives in seclusion in Berlin.

Filmography (excerpt)

1957 Viktor and Viktoria
1958 (lit.) We Prodigies | Wir Wunderkinder
1959 Adorable Arabella | Bezaubernde Arabella
1959  Jacqueline
1960  (lit.) Heroines | Heldinnen
1962 Street of Temptation  | Straße der Verheißung
1971 Captain Roughneck from St. Pauli | Käpt´n Rauhbein aus St. Pauli
1997 Single Bells
2000  (lit.) O Palm Tree | O Palmenbaum
2001  (lit.) Divorce with obstacles | Scheidung mit Hindernissen

About Elisabeth Flickenschildt

Elisabeth Ida Marie Flickenschildt was born on March 16, 1905 in Hamburg-Blankenese. She grew up in Hamburg and also graduated from high school there. At the age of 23 she took acting lessons and then went to the Hamburg Schauspielhaus. Afterwards she played in Munich and Berlin at different stages.

In 1936 she married the dramaturge and personal assistant of Gustaf Gründgens, Rolf Badenhausen, from whom she divorced again in 1944. She remained with Gründgens, however, and continued to act under his direction. She followed Gründgens from Berlin to Düsseldorf and to Hamburg. Under him, she played every conceivable major female role in the classical theater. In 1935 she joined the film industry. Here, too, she shone with great acting in leading roles in the films “Der zerbrochene Krug,” “Ein Mädchen geht an Land,” “Trenck, der Pandur,” “Rembrandt” and “Romanze in Moll.” During the Nazi era, she was a member of the NSDAP and was on Josef Goebbels’ so-called Gottbegnadeten list. After the war she was imprisoned by the Allies, but only for a short time. The British in particular resented her participation in the anti-British smear films “Ohm Krüger” and “The Fox of Glenarvon” and accused her of falsifying questionnaires regarding her denazification. In the 1950s she continued to act under Gründgens. After his death in 1963, she appeared in many film comedies, such as the film adaptations of Ludwig Thomas‘s Lausbubengeschichten, or in crime films based on novels by Edgar Wallace.

In 1963 she bought the Maria Rast farm on Lake Chiemsee and largely withdrew from theater and film from 1970. In 1965 she converted to the Catholic faith. She took on only occasional roles. In order to be able to accept an engagement at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg again, she moved back to Stade near Hamburg in 1976. Near Stade, she was the victim of a serious car accident in 1977, from the consequences of which she died on October 27, 1977 in Steinkirchen, in the district of Stade. The German Theater lost one of the greatest German stage actresses of the twentieth century. In addition to a large number of honors, she received, among others, the Film Ribbon in Gold, the Bambi and the Great Federal Cross of Merit.

Filmography (excerpt)

1937 The Broken Jug | Der zerbrochene Krug
1938 The Muzzle  | Der Maulkorb

A Girl Goes Ashore  | Ein Mädchen geht an Land

1939 Robert Koch
1940 Trenck, the Pandur
1942 The Great King | Der große König

Rembrandt

1943 Romance in a Minor Key | Romanze in Moll
1944 The Buchholz Family | Familie Buchholz
1954 Captain Wronski | Rittmeister Wronski
1957 The Girl and the Legend |  Robinson soll nicht sterben

King in Shadow  | Herrscher ohne Krone

1958 (lit.) We Prodigies | Wir Wunderkinder

Scampolo

1959 (lit.) The Visit of the Old Lady | Der Besuch der alten Dame
1960 Faust
1962 The Inn on the River | Das Gasthaus an der Themse
1963 (lit.) The Great Love Game |  Das große Liebesspiel

The Indian Scarf | Das indische Tuch

1965 Aunt Frieda | Tante Frieda
1971 Captain Roughneck from St. Pauli | Käpt´n Rauhbein aus St. Pauli
1974 When Mother Went on Strike | Als Mutter streikte
1975 MitGift ( lit. “Dowry” and “With Poison”)
1976 Golden Night |Die Nacht aus Gold

About Herbert Fleischmann

Herbert Fleischmann was born in Nuremberg on March 13, 1925. He completed his acting training at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. Afterwards he acted at various theaters in Germany and Austria until 1960. He joined the film industry in 1961. He worked for the cinema only very rarely. He did, however, make a name for himself by starring in six film adaptations of novels by bestselling author Johannes Mario Simmel.

On television, he appeared in various roles in well-known television series. He starred in classics like “Raumschiff Orion“, as well as in several episodes of “Der Kommissar“, “Derrick“, “Tatort“, “Der Alte“, “Das Traumschiff“, or “Sonderdezernat K1” and a lot more. He also appeared in a number of radio plays. Fleischmann was married to the actress Ruth Leuwerik from 1949 to 1953. Later he married the Swiss Miriam Spoerri and lived with her in Cavigliano in Ticino, where he also died of heart failure on April 5, 1984.

Filmography (excerpt, feature films only)

1961 Barbara
1963 The Breakthrough | Durchbruch Lok 234
1967 Headstand, Madam! | Kopfstand, Madame
1971 And Jimmy Went to the Rainbow’s Foot | Und Jimmy ging zum Regenbogen

Captain Roughneck from St. Pauli | Käpt´n Rauhbein aus St. Pauli

Love Is Only a Word | Liebe ist nur ein Wort

1972 The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of | Der Stoff aus dem die Träume sind
1973 All People Will Be Brothers |  Alle Menschen werden Brüder
1974 Only the Wind Knows the Answer | Die Antwort kennt nur der Wind
1975 Crime After School |  Verbrechen nach Schulschluss
1977 It Can’t Always Be Caviar | Es muss nicht immer Kaviar sein

Billboards

For the theatrical release in 1971, Constantin, the distributor at the time, printed many poster images that were displayed in the showcases of theaters across Germany in front of the entrance. On these, you could read scenes from the film as well as advertising messages. Below are a few of these motifs and texts (to enlarge, simply click on the desired image):

Material processing

Walter Potganski was able to realize the “elaborate digitization” together with Cristos Pateludis, an expert in film restoration, who himself developed some tools for the respective processing stages. Together with Reno Bornkamm, he is the owner of the company Pateludis Video Transfer and was responsible for the 4K scan, light determination and color correction, among other things.

Usually these steps are done in the presence of the cinematographer and the director, which of course was no longer possible in this case. The experience in the technical field of film restoration goes back over 40 years and so in this case Walter Potganski and Cristos Pateludis were now themselves responsible for what is called the “film look”.

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After

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Captain Roughneck from St. Pauli | Trailer [2022] (German) ᴴᴰ

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Comments & Feedback

“Tailored to the Norman closet Curd Jürgens German adventure film by Rolf Olsen, who was responsible for some partly amusing trash of the 60s and 70s.” (kino.de)

“Oddly enough, an overall impression is established that is a mixture of old joviality and attachment to the “manly” hero of yesteryear, who describes himself as having grown old, but still knows what to do and spreads an air of melancholy and sadness around him. Combine that with the fact that the whole thing is set in Puerto Rico, and exoticism has always stood Curd in good stead.” (Review, filmportal.com)

“A sea dog fights his way through: Curd Jürgens shines as a strong-willed captain.” (fernsehserien.de)

“Jürgen’s positive appearance still makes some other film celebrities seem puny.” (Review, film.terrorverlag.de)

Available formats and finishes

Limited Mediabook (Blu-Ray + DVD):

Unabridged theatrical version re-scanned for the first time in 4K and restored in full HD.

Aspect ratio Blu-Ray: WS 1.66:1 / 1080p 24; Aspect ratio DVD: WS 1.66:1 (anamorphic) | Total running time Blu-Ray: 92 min (German theatrical version); Total running time DVD: 89 min

Sound Format Blu-Ray: German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (mono); Sound Format DVD: German DD 2.0 (mono)

Bonus material: German trailer, artwork gallery, Mediabook with 20-page book section with many pictures and information, including exclusive miniature reprint of the 04-page film program from 1971, trailers for The Doctor of St. Pauli u. The Priest of St. Pauli. Video clip: “Everywhere in the world is beautiful”.

FSK 16 | FSK sticker removable

Blu-Ray:

Unabridged theatrical version re-scanned in 4K for the first time and restored in full HD.

Aspect ratio: WS 1.66:1 / 1080p 24 | Total running time: 92 min

Sound Format : German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (mono) | Bonus Material: German Trailer, Artwork Gallery, Trailers for The Doctor from St. Pauli u. The Priest from St. Pauli. Video clip: “Everywhere in the world is beautiful”.

FSK 16 | Reversible cover without FSK logo

DVD:

Unabridged theatrical version re-scanned in 4K for the first time and restored in full HD.

Aspect ratio: WS 1.66:1 (anamorphic) | Total running time: 89 min

Sound Format: German DD 2.0 (mono)

Bonus material: German trailer, artwork gallery, trailers for The Doctor from St. Pauli u. The Priest from St. Pauli. Video clip: “Everywhere in the world is beautiful”.

FSK 16 | Reversible cover without FSK logo

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