Fritz Genschow Films

A beautiful princess is betrothed to the prince of a neighboring kingdom, and when the time comes, she sets out with a small entourage to wed him. She is given a magic handkerchief by her mother, which she is told will protect her, along with a talking horse. Before she departs, her mother entrusts her to the care of her chambermaid, who promises to look after her. Unknown to the queen, however is the fact that the chambermaid desires the prince for herself, and has been concocting an evil plan to accomplish her ends. With the reluctant help of two bumbling servants, the chambermaid deprives the princess of the magic handkerchief, and tricks her into changing places with her, swearing her to secrecy. Once they arrive at the palace, the maid is taken for the princess, who becomes a goose girl.

Snow-White and Rose-Red, two very sweet girls give shelter to a bear in distress one night. In the spring the bear wanders off again, but rips his fur on the door on the way out, which makes the girls notice a shimmer of gold shining through. Later, the girls help out a dwarf in the woods, who has got his beard caught in first a fallen tree, then his fishing gear, and the third time they rescue him from a bird of prey.

German-made adaption of the famed Grimm Brothers fairy tale.

"Cinderella" is a delightful musical version of the classic fairytale of a good-natured girl and her wicked stepmother. When the local prince holds a ball for all the women in the land so he can find a wife, Cinderella is forbidden to go. With the aid of her good fairy godmother, however, Cinderella attends the ball and wins the prince's heart.

Der Struwwelpeter is a popular German children's book. It comprises of ten illustrated and rhymed stories, mostly about children. Each has a clear moral that demonstrates the disastrous consequences of misbehavior in an exaggerated way. Writer/director Fritz Genschow adapted Hoffmann's book to the big screen. He made a career doing such films, he had done Hansel and Gretel and would go on to adapt Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and other family films. Der Struwwelpeter, however, is weirder and darker than the Grimms' tales. They are heavy morality lessons in which children are burned to death, starved to death, or have their thumbs cut off. In Hoffmann's world the punishment usually far outweighs the crime. Genschow provided a happy ending: through the wonders of reverse action children are brought back from their fiery deaths, their thumbs are reattached, and their misdeeds undone through the power of St. Nicholas and some sort of Christmas miracle. (via forcesofgeek.com)