The Heath Is Green (1951 film)

The Heath Is Green is a 1951 West German (German: Grün ist die Heide) Heimatfilm directed by Hans Deppe and starring Sonja Ziemann, Rudolf Prack, and Maria Holst.

The film is based on the novel Grün ist die Heide by Hermann Löns, a popular work of German regional literature. It tells a romantic story set in the Lüneburg Heath, focusing on the lives and loves of its inhabitants, particularly a forester and a beautiful young woman. Like other Heimatfilms, The Heath Is Green emphasizes themes of nature, tradition, and rural life.

The film was a considerable box-office success in post-war Germany, contributing to the popularity of the Heimatfilm genre in the 1950s. It was followed by a remake with the same title in 1972. The 1951 version is considered by some to be a classic of the genre.