Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970) on Netflix
In an institution on a remote island, a group of dwarfs live under guards and a director. Denied a trip out, they revolt against their keepers.
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- IMDb6.7/106,825 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
Guards and a director, dwarfs themselves, run an institution for dwarfs on a remote island, and the inmates answer to them. When the inmates are refused a trip out on an excursion, they rise against the staff: windows and dishes are smashed, food is thrown, and a truck is left to roll in circles with nobody at the wheel. A cock fight is staged, pin-up magazines pass around, and pots of flowers are set alight. The film's entire cast is made up of dwarfs, and out of that choice comes an allegory about the human spirit and what happens when the restraints on it are lifted.
Cast
- Helmut Döringas Hombré
- Paul Glaueras Erzieher
- Gisela Hertwigas Pobrecita
- Hertel Minkneras Chicklets
- Gertrud Piccinias Piccini
- Marianne Saaras Theresa
- Brigitte Saaras Cochina
- Gerd Gickelas Pepe
- Erna Gschwendtneras Azucar
- Gerhard Maerzas Territory
- Alfredo Piccinias Anselmo
- Erna Smollarzas Schweppes
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Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- After two accidents on the set of Even Dwarfs Started Small, Werner Herzog promised his cast that if they finished the rest of filming without further injuries he would jump into a cactus patch and let them film it, and when they did, he kept his word.
- On Even Dwarfs Started Small, an actor was run over by the driverless van in the circling scene and stood up unharmed; in the flower-burning scene the same actor caught fire and director Werner Herzog ran over and beat the flames out, leaving him with only minor injuries.
- The driverless-van scene came from Werner Herzog's time as a steward at the Munich Oktoberfest, when he got into a drunk man's car, put the steering wheel on full lock and got out; the man passed out and the car circled until it ran out of petrol, a situation Herzog repeated at the end of his 1977 film Stroszek.
- For one dwarf actor who kept struggling not to laugh, Werner Herzog gave the opposite instruction: he told him repeatedly that he must not laugh, then pulled funny faces at him the moment filming started.
