The Beaverskin

Girls in Gingham (; literally, The Checkered Ones)—sometimes called Beaverskin—is a 1949 German drama film directed by Kurt Maetzig. Plot In 1884, Guste is born as the illegitimate daughter of a maid. She marries a worker named Paul; her mistress gives her a set of common, checkered mattresses as a wedding gift. During the First World War, Paul is called to the front, and she remains alone with their children and works in a munitions factory. When she realizes how the capital of the great industry magnates had caused the war in the first place, Guste resigns and begins cleaning houses for a living. When the Nazis take over, Paul is fired from his job for being a trade-unionist, and dies. At the Second World War, their children are killed in a bombing. Gusta's granddaughter, Christel, is the only family she has now. After the war, as Christel is about to attend university - the first member of the family to have ever done so - her grandmother sews her a new dress from the old mattresses and tells her to always fight for peace and freedom. Cast Camilla Spira as Guste Schmiedecke Werner Hinz as Paul Schmiedecke Liselotte Lieck as Grandmother Friedrich Gnaß as Grandfather Carsta Löck as Emma Ursula Diestel as Frieda Yvonne Merin as Marie Kurt Liebenau as Hans Brigitte Krause as Christel Hanni Herter as Suse Yvonne Sturm as Erika Hans Alexander Walter Bluhm as Mr. Levin Susi Deitz Lothar Firmans Production The script was adapted by author Berta Waterstradt from her successful radio drama, During the Blackout, which was broadcast in the Berlin Radio. Waterstradt's screenplay was rejected by DEFA at first. Director Kurt Maetzig decided to film her script only after he realized he will not be able to create a picture based on a novel by Eduard Claudius.