The Stationmaster's Wife

The Stationmaster's Wife (German: Bolwieser) is a 1977 German television serial directed and edited by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It was made for German television and originally aired in 1973 as a two-part miniseries. It was based on the 1931 novel Bolwieser: The Novel of a Husband by Oskar Maria Graf.

The Stationmaster's Wife
Based on	Bolwieser: The Novel of a Husband by Oskar Maria Graf
Screenplay by	Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Directed by	Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Starring	Elisabeth Trissenaar Kurt Raab Udo Kier Volker Spengler Gottfried John
Music by	Peer Raben
Country of origin	West Germany
Original language	German
Production
Producers	Herbert Knopp Willi Segler
Cinematography	Michael Ballhaus
Editors	Rainer Werner Fassbinder Juliane Lorenz Ila von Hasperg
Running time	201 minutes
Production companies	Bavaria Atelier Bavaria Film
Budget	DEM 1.8 million
Original release
Release	31 July 1977 (1977-07-31)

The plot revolves around railway station master Xaver Ferdinand Maria Bolwieser, who is unwittingly cuckolded by the town butcher and a hairdresser. Critic Vincent Canby, in his 1982 New York Times review, said the story, which is set in the fictional Bavarian town of Werburg in the 1920s, was reminiscent of Madame Bovary.^[1]

The 1983 theatrical release was 90 minutes shorter than the 201 minute TV version. The theatrical cut had been finalized and approved in 1977, but the release was postponed due to legal and commercial reasons.^[2]

Notes

In the credits, Fassbinder, who edited the film with Juliane Lorenz and Ila von Hasperg, was billed as a cutter under the stage name "Franz Walsch".