The lady, the devil and the tasting mummy
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The lady, the devil and the tasting mummy |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1919 |
| length | approx. 67 (1919) minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Rudolf Biebrach |
| script | Robert Wiene |
| production | Oskar Messter on behalf of UFA |
| music | Giuseppe Becce |
| camera | Karl friend |
| occupation | |
| |
The Lady, the Devil and the Probiermamsell is a 1918, German silent film by Robert Wiene with Henny Porten in the lead role.
action
The story takes place in the circles of the upper middle class.
An unspecified lady of the house has an admirer from whom she wants an ermine coat . Therefore, she goes to a fashion show at the Herpich fur house in order to pick out the most beautiful piece during the presentation of any coats. Ironically, she finds her worst competitor in an equally unspecified tasting mummy: she also has an admirer named Fritz, and has also had an eye on an ermine coat. It is precisely the piece that she had just shown to advantage in her function as a tasting mummy, so that Madame had it given to her by her admirer, a baron. The little projectionist is therefore pretty kinked and falls disappointed on her sofa at home. Then she falls into a deep sleep.
In the dream her very same gentleman, who has snatched "her" coat in front of her eyes for his beloved, appears as the devil himself: with clubfoot, tail and croissant on his head. Since the prince of hell knows the tasting mum's greatest wish, he promises her the blue of the sky and then abducts her into his dark, underground realm. She only has to fulfill three of his conditions, the diabolical seducer promises, then the tasting mummy would receive the cloak she longed for. The young woman fulfills these challenges brilliantly, but she still does not get the coat, because Satan devilishly does not keep his promise. The shop girl is boiling with rage, escapes from the seething cauldron of the underworld, jumps through the grounds ... and wakes up from her nightmare with a loud knock on her sofa.
The tasting mum opens the door, and in front of her stands the buyer of the fur who, as the devil, had just given her hell. He thinks he has guessed her wildest wishes and invites the girl to his apartment and five o'clock. There she could receive the longed-for coat. The demonstration girl does not miss this chance and is again confronted with a bizarre offer. This time she is offered to swap her life for that of Madame (including the ermine coat) for a week. Why is the madam willing to do this? She wants to, the tasting lady is submitted, simply enjoy the freedom of a simple woman from the people for eight days. And so the mannequin hopes to finally enjoy being able to wear the coat privately. As the new landlady, all of her wishes will be fulfilled - only the ermine fur she will never own. This week there are quite a few turbulent events and mix-ups. Both couples even go out together at the Trocadero. There it comes to a dispute, even to a temporary partner swap. But soon the reconciliation follows. Finally, the tasting mummy realizes how happy she is at the side of her Fritz. Both couples then celebrate their engagements together.
Production notes
The Lady, the Devil and the Tasting Mamsell was created in December 1918 and was premiered on January 17, 1919, in Berlin's Mozart Hall, during the censorship-free period. The length of the four-act was originally 1378 meters, after the reintroduction of film censorship, the strip was banned from young people in 1921 and re-performed in a shortened length of 1230 meters.
Kurt Richter designed the film structures .
criticism
“If you didn't know it before, it has now been made clear: Henny Porten can also take on the devil. The fact that it can also put the hellish cereal into boiling heat, which is well used to 60,000 degrees Celsius, shouldn't be a surprise, with so much charm and charm. (...) Dream and reality interlock and give a comedy that couldn't be more delightful. Henny Porten likes the cheerful note like no other. (...) There are other good things to be said about the film. The equipment corresponds to the bold dream image of hell, death and the devil, the interplay is finely toned and the photography has the best effect. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Today a completely uncommon and outdated term for a demonstration lady at fashion shows, a kind of forerunner of the mannequin or catwalk model