The Lord of Death
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Lord of Death |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1926 |
| length | 85 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK youth ban |
| Rod | |
| Director | Hans Steinhoff |
| script |
Karl Rosner Hans Székely |
| production |
Paul Ebner Maxim Galitzenstein |
| music |
Pasquale Perris (cinema music) |
| camera |
Hans Theyer Willy Gaebel |
| occupation | |
| |
The Lord of Death is a German silent film from 1926 directed by Hans Steinhoff . The main roles are occupied by Fred Solm , Eduard von Winterstein , Jenny Marba and Hertha von Walther .
The screenplay is based on the novel of the same name by Karl Rosner from 1910. This was first filmed in 1913 shortly before the outbreak of the First World War by Max Obal .
action
The plot of the film takes place around the year 1926, even if it propagates the spirit of the Prussian officer corps of the prewar period: After the young noble lieutenant Peter von Hersdorff let himself be carried away by an uncontrolled act towards his superior Freiherr von Bassenheim, he is forced to to say goodbye to the military. Although von Bassenheim misbehaved by behaving inappropriately towards Peter's fiancé Heid von Dünen, von Hersdorff alone has to bear the consequences of his justified attack. Since losing his military rank means something like a loss of honor, Peter decides to emigrate to America on the advice of his family, but without Heid. His first station away from home is that of a riding instructor. Even on the voyage by ship, the American Daisy Brown signaled her interest, which will continue in America. After the young man was temporarily unemployed, he was hired as a stoker on a ship. When he met a former artist there, he showed great interest in this profession and was trained by it.
In the meantime, Heid established a connection with von Bassenheim in Germany. However, the engaged couple are not happy together. It turns out that the famous artist Perez Herrera appears in a Berlin vaudeville theater with his number “Lord of Death”. In him, Heid recognizes her Peter, who has since risen to become an international star in this scene. She assures him that she still loves him and that she wants to stay with him. Peter wants to perform one last time and then start a new life with Heid, and is in mortal danger when a jealous dancer who is in love with him attacks his trapeze. Fortunately, he survived and can hug Heid, the woman he has always loved.
Production notes
The film was produced by Maxim-Film Gesellschaft Ebner & Co., Berlin on behalf of UFA . The distribution took place through Universum Film-Verleih GmbH (UFA), Berlin. The film is one of the so-called contingent films, films that were produced at low cost and with which Ufa fulfilled its obligations under the Parufamet contract. Robert Neppach set up the film. The film was shot from July to September 1926 in the Maxim Atelier in Berlin. The outdoor shots were taken in New York, the Lloyd steamer Columbus (in August) and in the pine forest near Berlin. For Fred Solm it was his film debut.
The original film length was 6 acts equal to 2,318 m. The restored version is 2,388 m long. The film was premiered on November 26, 1926 in the Tauentzienpalast in Berlin, after it had previously been subjected to an examination on November 22, 1926 under the number B14226 and a "youth ban" was pronounced. In Portugal it was launched on May 19, 1930 under the title O Dominador da Morte . The English title is: The Master of Death . The first performance of the restored version took place on October 13, 2007 in the Giornate del cinema muto, Teatro Verdi in Pordenone . Makia Matsumura accompanied on the piano.
criticism
The criticism written by Horst Claus for the Federal Archives focused on the relationship of a young lieutenant who violates military discipline and a superior as well as the code of honor of his class. Although he is the one who is right and is harassed by his rival out of “personal feelings of revenge”, “the caste spirit of his social environment insists not only on his resignation, but also on that of his father”. Claus complains that the film never criticizes or questions this outdated attitude. This is also reflected in the majority of the criticisms written at the time, which state "that the worldview of the empire under Prussia's leadership no longer fits into the time and the thinking of broader population groups in the Weimar Republic".
The criticism in the Reichsfilmblatt of December 4, 1926 was rather harsh: Hans Szekely's manuscript was written with the usual cold routine, which is always mistaken for modern. For today's concepts the whole thing is hypocritical and out of the question; Pre-war mentality - often not even that. We are sorry, but we have other interests today.
Carsten-Stephan v. Bothmer from Stummfilmkonzerte.de was of the opinion that Hans Steinhoff showed himself to be an “accomplished genre filmmaker”, who mixed melodrama and sensational films, thwarted social milieus and allowed the viewer to look into distant countries, he “did not shy away from clichés and no gaudy effects ". He makes "popular cinema that fills the screen and nourishes the eyes".
Web links
- The Lord of Death in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Lord of Death at filmportal.de
- The Lord of Death at the fwm foundation
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Horst Claus: The Lord of Death In: Bundesarchiv bei bundesarchiv.de
- ^ Carsten-Stephan v. Bothmer: The Lord of Death at stummfilmkonzerte.de