Schoolgirl Report 13 (4 Stars)

All good things must come to an end. The Schoolgirl Report films began in 1970 and dominated German cinema for a decade. It's now 1980, time for the 13th and last film in the series. During the 70's the Schoolgirl Report films were much imitated. In the 80's nobody cared any more. Times had moved on. The era of the Aufklärungsfilm, literally translated enlightenment film, was now over. Germans had been enlightened. Now the market was ready for real pornography, and the recently available videotape technology offered a good medium. That's a shame. Films like those made in Germany in the 1970's will never be made again.

It's interesting that after 12 films featuring the music of Gert Wilden he's been abandoned for this film. There must be a story behind it, but I don't know what it is. Maybe someone can ask him. He's 96 now and still fit. He says that music keeps him young. Another difference is that this is the only film in the series in which the main actors are named in the credits.

Gert Wilden in December 2012

The outer frame takes place in a classroom where a group of teenagers are rehearsing a performance of "Romeo and Juliet". The teacher criticises them for saying the lines without feeling, to which they reply that Shakespeare is old-fashioned and they can't relate to him; today sex is more important than love. The teacher tries to explain that Shakespeare's words are as relevant today as when they were written. One by one the young actors tell stories to their teacher, sometimes disagreeing with him, but he always contradicts them.

1. Peter tells the teacher about a story he read in the newspaper. A shopkeeper was found stabbed to death in his apartment, and the only suspect was a 16-year-old Greek girl, Irina. The police detective interviews her, which means we move into a nested frame. How I love German Rahmennovellen! Irina's friends had egged her on to steal from a shop. She stole black panties from a small clothing store, but the owner saw her. He said that he wouldn't call the police if she modelled the panties for him. He also asked her for a written confession of the crime. He then used the confession to blackmail her into having sex with him every day that week. She told her boyfriend Niko about it, but he was angry and broke up with her. However, she denied having killed the man, insisting he was already dead when she arrived. Before the police could take her away Niko arrived and confessed to the crime

The wonderful Rosl Mayr

2. Erika tells a story that she has heard from her friend Janna. Achim made a bet with his friends that he could have sex with Janna within a week, and he would present her panties as proof of his conquest. Janna heard about the bet and swore he would never succeed. Playing along, she took him home and told him she knew about the bet, but it didn't matter. She took off her clothes and handed him her strangely old-fashioned panties, along with a signed note saying "These are Janna's panties". They jumped into bed, but before they could start Janna's grandmother knocked the door. Achim ran out onto the balcony naked, clutching the panties in his hand, which he used to cover himself. When he climbed down from the balcony his friends were already waiting for him. Despite his embarrassment he boasted about his victory. His boasting was cut short when the grandmother, played by the delightful Rosl Mayr, came out and said they were her panties. Her name is Janna as well, and it was her signature on the note.

3. Peggy talks about visiting her friend Daniela in an alcohol rehab clinic. While there Daniela told her how she came to be there, once more a nested frame. Daniela first started drinking after her father's suicide when she was 15. At first it was only small amounts. Then she was visited by her cousin Stefan, and she fell in love with him. For a few weeks he took her out and introduced her to the glamourous night life of Munich. She wanted sex with him, but changed her mind at the last moment because she was too nervous. Stefan got angry, hit her and raped her. After this she drank more heavily. She got a new boyfriend, Werner, but he was clumsy during sex and she didn't enjoy it. The only thing that made her happy was alcohol. Since she was still only 16 she didn't have enough money to buy herself drinks, so she began to work as a prostitute. Eventually she was thrown out of a moving car by her "friends", leading to her being sent into rehab.

4. One of the other girls tells a story about something that happened in school. Two girls wanted to have sex with two boys. The boys said they were experienced, the girls said they were experienced, but in truth they were all virgins. Typical teenagers! They went to a barn to have sex, and one of girls took her little sister Rolli along to watch the bikes. While she was sitting alone a charming young man sat and talked with Rolli. In the barn everything went wrong; two hikers wandered into the barn, the haybales collapsed and the teenagers ran away in panic. At the end of the story they complained that they were still virgins, but Rolli happily sighed "I'm not a virgin any more".

5. Thea tells a story about her friend Ingrid. Ingrid's boyfriend Michael was two-timing her with a French girl called Claudi. Michael's best friend Walter was supposed to distract Ingrid while he was on a date with Claudi, but things went wrong and the two girls met. Cat fight! They ripped each other's clothes off and fell into a lake. Michael and Walter pulled them apart. Ingrid got romantic with Walter, and Claudi forgave Michael. So, in this respect the 13th film is like the previous 12 films in the Schoolgirl Report series. Whatever happens in the previous scenes, in the final scene we have a happy ending.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Karin König as Rolli --- German schoolgirls never wear bras

Here are links to all my reviews of the Schoolgirl Report films:

• Schoolgirl Report (October 1970)
• Schoolgirl Report 2 (August 1971)
• Schoolgirl Report 3 (February 1972)
• Schoolgirl Report 4 (August 1972)
• Schoolgirl Report 5 (April 1973)
• Schoolgirl Report 6 (October 1973)
• Schoolgirl Report 7 (April 1974)
• Schoolgirl Report 8 (November 1974)
• Schoolgirl Report 9 (August 1975)
• Schoolgirl Report 10 (March 1976)
• Schoolgirl Report 11 (March 1977)
• Schoolgirl Report 12 (February 1978)
• Schoolgirl Report 13 (August 1980)