Rumpelstiltskin

Based on a Grimm fairy tale, this East German production follows Marie, the daughter of a boastful miller. After her father falsely claims she can spin straw into gold, Marie is imprisoned in a palace and ordered to perform the impossible task to satisfy the crown. A small man offers his assistance in exchange for her jewelry, but as the demands for gold increase, Marie is eventually forced to promise her first-born child to the creature. After marrying the king and having a child, she must find a way to keep her baby by discovering the mysterious man's name.

Directed by Christoph Engel and Erwin Anders, the film was produced by DEFA. The cast includes Karin Lesch as Marie, Karl-Heinz Rothin as the miller Kunz, and Nikolaus Paryla as the king. Other roles are played by Bodo Mette, Reinhard Michalke, and Peter Dommisch. The screenplay was written by Engel alongside Gudrun Deubener and Margot Beichler. This family fantasy has a runtime of 73 minutes. Audience reception is mixed, with a rating of 6.3/10 on IMDb from 161 votes and a lower score of 5.4/10 on TMDB from 16 votes.