# Myrte of the Demons

Myrte of the Demons or Myrte en de Demonen is a 1950 Dutch film directed by Paul Bruno Schreiber.
Myrte en de demonen is the first Dutch fairy tale film after the Second World War, produced between 1946 and 1950 by the European Art Union of the German director Paul Bruno Schreiber. The camera work is by Bert Haanstra and Dirk de Herder

## Story

The story is mythological and based on the battle between good and evil. The film symbolically expresses the struggle between light and darkness, good and evil. Myrte is played by Paulida Weggelaar.
The demons are jealous of the cheerful Myrte. Horribos, the wizard turns her dolls and animals into stones. The demons take on human forms from midnight to dawn. At that time they try to get Myrte under their control by extinguishing the candle, which was given to her by a good meadow spirit for protection. Two dwarfs (Bokkel and Nokkel) and also the moon come to her aid.
Through her innocence she finally overcomes the evil intentions of the demons, so that they even come to her aid when the witch is after Myrte. Myrte makes friends with the princess, who wanted to kill her rabbit out of jealousy and is injured herself as a result, after which the princess (Tuuk) can die in peace.
Dawn breaks, the moon leaves for the sky, and the demons must also disappear.
The spell is broken.

## Background

The film is based on the book of the same name Myrte en de demonen, written by Paul Schreiber. For Bert Haanstra it was his first assignment as a cameraman for a feature film.[4] Dirk de Herder was his assistant. The recordings were made at the estate Huis te Manpad in Heemstede. The film has been dubbed into Dutch (Voice: Doreen Buckner) in Great Britain and was originally spoken in English. Marinus Adam (conductor-composer of the North Holland Philharmonic Orchestra) was responsible for the music performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Helene Ludolph and The Wardour Singers. The musical theme recurs throughout the film. D.A. Boer was the recording director and Studio Manpad was responsible for the set design. Miss Alpha. Bigot fabricated the puppets and masks. The fa. Michels (Karel Bronkhorst) took care of the grimace. On May 14, 1948, a silent working copy was previewed in the Building for Arts and Sciences (The Hague). The preview was musically illustrated by the Haarlemse Orkest Vereniging (H.O.V.) (later Noordhollands Philharmonisch Orkest) conducted by the composer with the participation of Helene Ludolph and the boys' choir "De Liduina Boys". The Dutch premiere took place on March 17, 1950, in the Cultura theater (now: Cinetol) in Amsterdam. The film was taken out of circulation after a week in Cultura and a week in theater De Uitkijk (Amsterdam). For Bert Haanstra it was his first assignment as a cameraman for a feature film. Dirk de Herder was his assistant. The recordings were made at the estate Huis te Manpad in Heemstede. The film has been dubbed into Dutch (Voice: Doreen Buckner) in Great Britain and was originally spoken in English. Marinus Adam (conductor-composer of the North Holland Philharmonic Orchestra) was responsible for the music performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Helene Ludolph and The Wardour Singers. The musical theme recurs throughout the film. D.A. Boer was the recording director and Studio Manpad was responsible for the set design. Miss Alpha. Bigot fabricated the puppets and masks. The fa. Michels (Karel Bronkhorst) took care of the grimace. On May 14, 1948, a silent working copy was previewed in the Building for Arts and Sciences (The Hague). The preview was musically illustrated by the Haarlemse Orkest Vereniging (H.O.V.) (later Noordhollands Philharmonisch Orkest) conducted by the composer with the participation of Helene Ludolph and the boys' choir "De Liduina Boys". The Dutch premiere took place on March 17, 1950, in the Cultura theater (now: Cinetol) in Amsterdam. The film was taken out of circulation after a week in Cultura and a week in theater De Uitkijk (Amsterdam).

## Cast

* Paulida Weggelaar Schreiber - Myrte
* Harry Berg - Menelak
* Ludzer Eringa ... The Moon
* Sonia Gables - pinces Tuuk
* Kees Kick - Nokkel
* Dick Versluis - Bokkel
* Johan Mittertreiner - Kromlak
* Jan Musch - Paperlak
* Mascha ter Weeme - Witch
* Sonja Mabel Jap Tjong - Princess Tuuk
* Marie Jeanne van der Veen - Ballerina
* Theo van Vliet - Horribos

## Trivia

* The entire film was shot outdoors, mainly in the early evening and night.
* The book edition of the same name was published in 1948, with illustrations by Rie Reinderhoff.
* The film was shown for a week in June 2017 at Filmtheater Kriterion in Amsterdam
* Originally the film was black and white, part of the film was later converted to color. Spirit color (S.C.O.R.P. = Spirit Color Optical Reduction Process) Spirit color.
* The film was shot in 35mm and later digitized (YouTube).
* Post-syncing and dubbing: Denham Film Studios Denham-Pinewood Studios). J.A. Rank, England English dialogue: Gyles Adams. English Speakers: Richard Walter, John Bailey, Alec Finter, Richard George, Hugh Buckner, David Page, and Doreen Buckner (Myrte)
* Both the original "Dreh-Buch" Musik (German) and the screenplay are owned by the Schreiber heirs and are archived in Schloss Möhren, Bavaria, Germany.
* Confusion: Both the book and the movie Myrtle and the Demons are often thought to be for children. This is a misconception. Myrtle and the Demons is a fairy tale for adults.