The Lord of the World (1934)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Lord of the world |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1934 |
| length | 110 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Harry Piel |
| script |
Georg Mühlen-Schulte Harry Piel |
| production | Harry Piel |
| music | Fritz Wenneis |
| camera | Ewald Daub |
| cut | Erich Palme |
| occupation | |
| |
The Lord of the World is a German science fiction film from 1934 by Harry Piel with Walter Janssen , Sybille Schmitz , Siegfried Schürenberg and Walter Franck in a villain role.
action
The machine manufacturer Dr. Erich Heller is a humanistically oriented visionary who hopes that the mechanization of the world of work will result in an all-encompassing improvement in living conditions for the workforce. Especially in the mines, where the miners often do highly dangerous and physically demanding work, he wants his “machine people”, his robots , to be used. Heller (mistakenly) sees his most capable scientist Professor Wolf as the most important supporter of his vision of a “better working world”. How can the entrepreneur suspect that Wolf has long been pursuing his own deadly plans with which he would like to achieve world domination: he wants to create the “super robot”, the deadly invincible “fighting machine”.
On the flight home from a business trip, Heller enthuses mining engineer Werner Baumann with his vision: Humanity should participate in the progress of technology, humans and machines should merge into a unit that would benefit humans. Then they part ways. Baumann has barely returned to his Ehrenberg colliery when a devastating accident occurs there. By firedamp die many miners. Dr. Meanwhile, Heller is called to his work: Wolf is experimenting again, and Heller believes that his best man seems to have made the breakthrough. But Wolf is an unscrupulous fanatic. He proudly demonstrates his new super robot to the factory owner. When Heller, appalled by Wolf's abusive research activities, approaches the robot too closely, he is hit by its deadly rays. Wolf declares the murder a "tragic industrial accident".
Wolf believes he has reached the goal of his power plans and tries to persuade Heller's widow Vilma to give him a completely free hand in his experiments from now on. Meanwhile, the young woman meets Baumann while on vacation, and he visits her occasionally. Baumann is plagued by Heller's products. The mine was converted to machine operation, many miners have become unemployed through the use of robots. Baumann wants to speak to Vilma in order to dissuade her from her plan to transfer ownership of the company to her late husband Wolf. There is a serious argument between Baumann and Wolf in the laboratory, as Baumann realizes that Wolf's machines are exploiting people and that his super robot is supposed to bring down any unrest. This time the dangerous rays hit Baumann, who sinks to the ground. Vilma, who loves him, can still save him, while Wolf falls victim to his uninhibited machine monster. In the big showdown, the laboratory of calamity is destroyed, the super robot destroys everything around it and ultimately itself. Vilma and Baumann decide to rebuild the Heller works, but this time, in the spirit of Erich Heller, they should only serve the benefit of the working people. Parts of the profit from the sale of mechanical engineering are to be used in future for the benefit of laid-off workers.
Production notes
Der Herr der Welt was shot from mid-May to mid-June (studio shots) and mid-July (outdoor shots) 1934 and is Piel's only sound film director in which he was not involved. The film was based on motifs from three Piel silent films: The Big Bet (1915), The Secret of D.14 (1915) and Rivals (1923). The filming locations were Berlin, the Wannsee and the Barsinghausen coal mine .
The film passed the censorship on August 10, 1934, was released for young people and was given the title "artistic". The premiere took place one day later in Berlin's UFA-Palast am Zoo .
The buildings were designed by Willi A. Herrmann , the still photos were taken by Eigil Wangøe . Eugen Hrich was responsible for the sound. The musical director was the composer and conductor Fritz Wenneis . Ludwig Behrends was in charge of production , Conrad Flockner was one of two production managers and also served as production assistant.
Reviews
In the news world sheet it says: “The film ' The Lord of the World ' approaches huge issues of the time in a fresh and cheerful manner. (...) Harry Piel, the director, imagines the task of creating paradise on earth to be a little too easy. From a cinematic point of view, the film is a work worth seeing. The technical details in particular are - by no means small - quite credible and interesting. "
The Vienna Latest News reported in the issue of November 20, 1934. There it says on page 7: “The director as such can hardly be said to be bad with this film either. As is well known, Harry Piel thinks of excitement and speed. The portrayal, especially of the main roles, is impressive. The elegant appearance of Sybille Schmitz, who knows how to captivate here as the industrialist's wife, pleasantly outshines all the horrors of the plot. Siegfried Schürenberg's mining engineer, who is inspired by energy and idealism, and Walter Janssen, an equally minded entrepreneur, are also quite likeable. Memorable Walter Franck's ominous demonia. "
The Österreichische Film-Zeitung wrote: "With this ... film, Harry Piel has put down proof of his technically extremely creative imagination."
In the December 16, 1935 issue of the New York Times , on the occasion of the US premiere, the following was to be read: “With abundant presentations of actual and pseudo-scientific machines and all kinds of would-be whimsical presentations of death rays and complicated electrical equipment, the problem arises the technologically induced unemployment presented - and resolved - in ' The Lord of the World '. (...) It seems that all the creators of labor-saving machines need to do is simply stipulate that buyers should give displaced workers jobs at the levers, which they can then use to oversee the operation of their robot successors. At least this is the happy end of this not-too-exciting production, which is characterized above all by the excellent acting skills of Walter Franck in the role of the half-crazy inventor ... "
Oskar Kalbus wrote in 1935:
“ Harry Piel dared to approach lions and tigers, why shouldn't he approach one of the most difficult and greatest problems of the 20th century: the problem of robots, people made of iron and steel, guided by electric waves, with armored ones Fists of workers doing work. A technical vision! (...) Unfortunately, he was unable to solve the major technical tasks and problems that Piel faced here because he made the mistake of trying to solve too many modern problems at once. Piel was unable to see the whole plot of the film and its ethical attitude from the machine, the overcoming of which is the ethos of our future. So the well-intentioned film has finally become a 'mélange' that does not penetrate into the art of film. Therefore, the images of the force of romance and the eerie modern technology, such as the mining disaster and some other sensational effects, remain great. "
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ "The Lord of the World". In: Neuigkeits-Welt-Blatt , November 20, 1934, p. 10 (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ "The Lord of the World". In: Wiener newest Nachrichten , November 20, 1934, p. 7 (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ "The Lord of the World". In: Österreichische Film-Zeitung , November 24, 1934, p. 3 (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ The Lord of the World in The New York Times
Web links
- The Lord of the world in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Lord of the World at filmportal.de