|
''I Am a Camera'' is a British comedy-drama film released in 1955. Based on ''The Berlin Stories'' by Christopher Isherwood and the play ''I Am a Camera'' by John Van Druten, the film is a fictionalized account of Isherwood's time living in Berlin between the World Wars. Directed by Henry Cornelius from a script by John Collier, ''I Am a Camera'' stars Laurence Harvey as Isherwood and Julie Harris recreating her Tony Award winning performance as Sally Bowles. ''I Am a Camera'' was critically unsuccessful upon its release in both the United Kingdom and the United States, and the film was subjected to restrictive ratings. Long overshadowed by ''Cabaret'', the 1966 stage and 1972 film adaptation of the same source material, contemporary critics have noted the historic interest of this earlier presentation. ==Plot== In contemporary London, Christopher Isherwood attends a literary party for the launch of a memoir, the author of which he is surprised to learn is Sally Bowles. This knowledge sparks a reverie and the film flashes back to Berlin, New Year's Eve 1931. Broke and frustrated with his writing, Christopher plans to spend the night in but his would be gigolo friend Fritz insists they go to a night club to see Fritz's new inamorata, Sally Bowles, perform. Fritz hopes to live off Sally's earnings as a film star but his ardor quickly cools at the sight of her fiancé Pierre, with whom she plans to leave for Paris that night. Instead, Pierre absconds with her money. Chris, taking pity on her, invites her to stay at his boarding house. They arrange for Chris to move to a smaller room and for Sally to take his old room. Over the course of a long and unproductive winter in which Chris cannot write and Sally finds no work, Chris attempts to initiate a sexual relationship with Sally. She rejects him, saying it would spoil their friendship. Their spirits renewed by the Spring, Christopher and Sally splurge on a Champagne Cocktail at a café and Sally quickly orders far more cocktails and caviar than they can afford. They are extricated from the situation by wealthy American socialite Clive Mortimer, who pays their check and takes them on a tour of Berlin night spots. Thus begins a whirlwind relationship between the three culminating in a planned trip to Honolulu. The trip never happens, as Clive wires that his plans have changed. Chris and Sally have a terrible fight, resulting in a rift in their friendship and Sally's planned departure. Feeling as though he has reconnected with real life, the formerly apolitical Christopher starts a street altercation with a group of Nazis. Returning home he discovers that Sally has not left because she is pregnant. Christopher proposes marriage but Sally refuses him. Writing up an account of his Nazi altercation, Chris sells his "Portrait of Berlin" to an American magazine to raise money for Sally to have an abortion. The magazine editor hires Chris to write a series of Portraits of European cities, expecting him to leave the following day. When he returns home Sally has changed her mind; she plans to keep the baby and marry Chris. The next morning, Sally tells Chris that she has mis-figured the dates and was never actually pregnant. She is also leaving Berlin for Paris, in pursuit of a film executive with whom Clive has connected her. Back in present-day London, Christopher and Sally reunite. Upon learning that Sally is again penniless and homeless, Chris invites her to stay in his spare room. In a subplot, Fritz tries to secure the affections of Natalia Landauer, a wealthy Jewish department store heiress and Christopher's student of English. When Natalia fails to respond to his charms, Sally suggest that he "pounce", make a sexual advance. He reports that this tactic is unsuccessful and Natalia refuses to see him. Fritz confesses to Christopher that he is Jewish and has been concealing it for years, but vows to stop lying about his heritage. Their story concludes with their announcement to Chris and Sally that they plan to marry and emigrate to Switzerland. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「I Am a Camera (film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|