The man in the basement
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The man in the basement |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1914 |
| length | 52 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Joe May |
| script | Ernst Reicher |
| camera | Max Fassbender |
| occupation | |
| |
Der Mann im Keller is a German detective film from 1914 in the Stuart Webbs film series with Ernst Reicher in the leading role of the master detective.
action
One day, detective Stuart Webbs is hired by a London widow to investigate the strange noises in her house. Soon he too hears the strange noise: it is a howling terrier . Obviously the howling comes from the supposedly empty neighboring building. When Webbs tries to investigate the matter, he finds that the noise is amplified by the whistling of the gas pipe laid in the walls. A little later he discovers the owner of the dog lying unconscious in the cellar.
The man is Lord Rawson, a British officer in the British colonial troops stationed in Egypt . He was recently lured home by a forged telegram. In the meantime, the leader of the gang that hatched a master plan has taken the position of lord. Not only are the villains trying to get hold of Rawson's rich bride's dowry, the men have much more sinister intentions. It's about stealing the secret plans for an automatic pistol on the eve of an impending war. After many trials and tribulations and the most diverse masquerades of Stuart and his main opponent, the final showdown takes place in a hotel room: the real and the false lord are face to face, and not even the future bride can say with certainty who is who is.
Production notes
Was shot the man in the basement , the second film in this series, January / February 1914 in the studio of Continental art film in Chausseestraße 123. The same company was also responsible for production. The man in the basement has a length of four files at 1,412 meters, which corresponds to a playing time of almost 52 minutes. The world premiere took place on March 20, 1914 in the Kammerlichtspiele on Potsdamer Platz (Berlin).
The film structures come from the hand of Paul Leni . This Stuart Webb crime thriller is the oldest in the series and is not lost.
Reicher appears here in a total of four disguises: twice as an electrician to get into the bride's house inconspicuously, once as a beggar and once as room service for the hotel.
criticism
“The man in the basement is an excellent detective drama ... Ernst Reicher is the detective actor, not only as an actor, but also as an acrobat. The many surprises of the film offer great interest, which is given the most advantageous surface thanks to a well-played double role. "
Web links
- The man in the basement in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The man in the basement at The German Early Cinema Database
- The man in the basement at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ The man in the basement . In: Thomas Elsaesser: A Second Life. German Cinema's First Decades . Amsterdam 1996, p. 145
- ↑ Film length calculator
- ↑ cf. Elsaesser, p. 146
- ↑ Kinematographische Rundschau , November 29, 1914, p. 50