The secret of the moonlight sonata
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The secret of the moonlight sonata |
| Original title | Het mysterie van de Moonlight Sonata |
| Country of production | Netherlands |
| original language | Dutch |
| Publishing year | 1935 |
| length | 91 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Kurt Gerron |
| script | Walter Schlee |
| production | Loet C. Barnsteijn |
| music | Jaap Kool |
| camera | Akos Farkas |
| occupation | |
| |
The Secret of the Moonlight Sonata is a Dutch crime film from 1935 by Kurt Gerron , the first Dutch production of which this was. The story is based on a crime novel by the author Willy Corsari .
action
Sascha Darinoff and Enrica Maerlant were once a celebrated dance couple, but since Enrica gave up dancing and married the much older and wealthy Maerlant, a businessman with two children from a previous marriage, she's been bored to death. An erotic affair, she thinks, would do her good, and so she contacts Sascha again to secretly meet him at night. Both let go, and shared memories of the great time of dancing come back. To Ludwig van Beethoven's moonlight sonata they begin to dance tenderly together, when a shot is fired: Enrica sinks to the ground, fatally hit.
Detective Inspector Lund, a conscientious and strict police officer, takes on this case. At first, everything indicates that Darinoff must be the culprit, since his footprints have been found, although Darinoff denies having visited Enrica. Maerlant claims to have seen Darinoff jumping out the window after the shot was fired. Under pressure, Sascha Darinoff confesses to a murder he did not commit. Soon further tracks lead in various other directions. Several of Enrica's acquaintances have good motives for wanting to murder her. There is, for example, Lucie Maerlant, Enrica's stepdaughter, who always had the feeling that Enrica was constantly flirting with her fiancé Jan, and Liesbeth, the wife of Maerlant's driver Thijs, even believes that Enrica had an affair with her husband. Yva, Darinoff's current dance partner, didn't like the fact that Sascha had recently devoted himself too much to Enrica. Joop Maerlant, Lucie's brother, is also an option for the bloody act, because he stole a ring from her after Enrica's death. Driver Thijs, on the other hand, makes himself highly suspicious for having made a false statement.
Soon afterwards Liesbeth fell seriously ill. Although she is no longer able to go about her job, she keeps repeating that she knows who the killer is. When Inspector Lund tries to visit her, a stranger tries to murder the woman, but Lund manages to save her. The unknown shooter escapes undetected. Soon, however, a new lead leads Lund to Lucie Maerlant. Then there is another assassination attempt, and this time the inspector himself is the victim. Lund, who thinks he knows who is behind the crimes, barely survives a poison attack. But after a day of bed rest, he is back on his feet. Although Thijs had seriously incriminated Darinoff, the detective now completely rules out the dancer as the perpetrator. Rather, he convicts Katharina, Enrica's older sister, who once insisted that Enrica not start an affair with Darinoff. Then, so Katharina, Enrica threatened to expel her from the family, which Katharina had deeply worried. She confesses the act and shows remorse.
Production notes
The Secret of the Moonlight Sonata premiered in the Netherlands on November 7th, 1935; the German premiere took place on November 7th, 1984 in the third program of the WDR .
criticism
"An old crime film based on the classic motifs of searching for and unmasking the perpetrators, which was recognized as the first really exciting production in the Netherlands at that time."
Individual evidence
Web links
- The secret of the Moonlight Sonata in the Internet Movie Database (English)