The curse of gold
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The curse of gold |
| Country of production | German Empire |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1917 |
| length | approx. 83 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Richard Oswald |
| script |
Fritz Friedmann-Frederich Richard Oswald freely based on motifs from a story by August Strindberg |
| production | Richard Oswald |
| camera | Max Fassbender |
| occupation | |
| |
Des Goldes Fluch is a German silent film drama from 1917 by Richard Oswald based on a literary model by August Strindberg .
action
In 1732. Bernhard Gruber, a bitter eccentric, leaves an amount of 1000 thalers in his will. However, it makes it a condition that the money may only be paid out on a certain day 180 years later, i.e. in 1912.
In 1912. One day the notary's assistant Peter Oblinsky finds the ancient will. In the 180 years, the well-invested, small amount of 1000 thalers has grown to a million dollar fortune. The notarial clerk decides, without knowing that the will of old Gruber has been burdened with a terrible curse for the heirs to come, to snatch the money.
Oblinsky determines the four possible heirs: They are direct descendants, the worker Gruber, a factory owner named Greven, the convict Graf and a light-hearted lady named Lola Bartel. That woman seems ideal to him as an accomplice, because she is not exactly fraught with scruples either. With Lola's help, one rightful inheritance after another will be put out of the way.
But even now, Oblinsky's greed for money has not yet come to an end. Why should he share with Lola? In the end he knocks them down in order to come into sole possession of the entire sum of 15 million thalers. But his soul, poisoned by unscrupulousness and greed for money, has long since been damaged, and so Oblinsky, marked by madness, burns all the stolen money.
Production notes
The five-act film with a length of 1813 meters, shot at the beginning of 1917, premiered on May 25, 1917 in the Tauentzienpalast in Berlin . In Austria-Hungary, where the film was around 1,700 meters long, it was shown for the first time on February 22, 1918.
"Des Goldes Fluch" has been re-released by the Filmarchiv Austria in a restored version.
Reviews
In Paimann's film lists you can read: "Material is very fantastic. Game, photos and scenery are very good".
In stummfilm.at it says: "Des Goldes Fluch is a film about the theme of material greed as the mainspring of all evil. But neither in the monstrous plot nor in the pictures Oswald cares about a fantastic turning away of the demonic. His Mephisto is a charming one , a little more conservative, but a little clerk who prepares all his crimes in a systematic manner ".
film.at comes to the following conclusion: "Oswald builds a bold bridge between medieval and modern materialism, which mocks all family ties in its pursuit of money. But in the end the deceived fraudster perishes because of his own perfidy."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Des gold's curse in Paimann's film lists ( Memento of the original from March 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The curse of gold in stummfilm.at
- ↑ Des gold's curse on film.at
