I Am a Camera

I Am a Camera (1955)

Just before the Nazis ascend to power in Berlin, Chris, an aspiring novelist from England, meets flamboyant cabaret entertainer Sally Bowles and an unusual friendship is born. As Sally feeds her extravagant tastes, Chris goes along for the ride, until their Jewish pal, Fritz, encounters trouble.

Date of release
1955-07-21
TMDB
6.2 / 10 (16)
Runtime
1h 38m
Genres
Drama, Comedy
Director
Henry Cornelius

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Based on: The Berlin Stories and I Am a Camera

I Am a Camera is a 1955 British independent comedy-drama film based on the 1945 book The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood and the 1951 eponymous play by John Van Druten.

Production

After the play had a successful West End run in 1954, film producers John and James Woolf began exploring the idea of adapting Van Druten's play for the screen. In April 1954, director Henry Cornelius and the Woolfs sent a copy of the play to the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) for evaluation.

Director Henry Cornelius asked Isherwood to write the screenplay. He was forced to decline, as he was engaged working on the screenplay for Diane, a biopic of Diane de Poitiers, for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Hollywood.

The first draft of John Collier's screenplay was submitted to the BBFC in October 1954. While the screenplay was being prepared, the Board sent four different examiners to see the play. Each agreed that the play as written was unsuitable for filming, although one held out hope that modifications could be made to allow for the A rating.

Filming commenced in mid-October 1954. Cornelius had wanted to film in Berlin, but was unable to because of currency issues with the studio. Isherwood had hoped to be in London for the filming, but his lover Don Bachardy was unable to secure the permission of his local draft board to obtain a passport.

Ron Randell was cast on the strength of his stage and TV reputation.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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