The Singing, Ringing Tree was the most memorable serial from a long-running strand of East German children's films shown by the BBC throughout the 1960s. Imagine a fairy tale conceived by Wagner and directed by Fritz Lang, with nods in the direction of The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari and the vivid colours of the Wizard of Oz and you would be close.
In the original film version we follow a prince who sets out to find the singing, ringing tree in order to win the love of a beautiful but haughty princess, finally, he finds what she wants with the help of the ruler in the realm of magic, an evil gnome. This leads the Prince to become ensnared in a terrible predicament…
DDR / 1957 / 73mins / Director: Francesco Stefani / Cert: PG / Progress Film
