Synopsis

In 1927 Berlin, unemployed musician Harry Frommermann assembles six singers into the Comedian Harmonists, an innovative vocal group whose playful arrangements and polished performances bring international fame. Their success carries them across Europe and to the United States, but the rise of Nazism exposes the group's Jewish members to increasing persecution. By 1934, political pressure and antisemitic laws threaten both their careers and their unity.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is based on the real Comedian Harmonists, a German vocal sextet active from 1927 to 1934.

• The group's repertoire in the film is heard primarily through original recordings made by the real Comedian Harmonists in the 1930s. The recordings were cleaned up and digitally enhanced for the soundtrack.

• The film was released in Germany under the title "Comedian Harmonists." "The Harmonists" was used for its English-language release.

• The story covers the final years of the Weimar Republic and shows how Nazi racial policies forced the group's Jewish members out of public performance.

• The film won several German Film Awards in 1998, including Best Fiction Film, Best Editing, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Production Design.

• Some scenes were filmed at the public baths in Bad Fischau, Lower Austria.

• The film's success helped inspire the stage musical "Veronika, der Lenz ist da - Die Comedian Harmonists," which premiered in Berlin in December 1997.

• After that stage production closed, the performers who had portrayed the sextet formed the Berlin Comedian Harmonists, a group dedicated to recreating the original ensemble's repertoire.