The lion bride

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
Original title The lion bride
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1914
length approx. 72 minutes
Rod
Director Max Obal
production Johannes Gaulke
camera Karl Hasselmann
occupation

The Lion's Bride is a German silent film made in 1913 by Max Obal .

action

The content is only rudimentary. An American billionaire has two daughters who have an unexplainable urge to enter the world of lions. One wants to become a great singer, the other finds her fulfillment in dance. When the filthy rich father suddenly becomes impoverished, both young women, willy-nilly, have to live their own lives and earn money. The singer Emmy Destinn, always welcomed in the billionaire's house, advises the sisters to concentrate professionally on what they previously did as a hobby. And so both are drawn to the big cats with their respective art. Emmy sets a good example and goes into the cage as the "lion bride" to sing an aria in the cage side by side with four kings of the desert. She even dares to put a hand on the head of the (obviously well-fed) lion before quickly disappearing to safety.

But then Edith's hour strikes, who proves her dancing skills in the direct vicinity of 14 lions. Originally, she is looking for a rendezvous with her beau waiting in front of the cage, who is the guard in an ancient Roman outfit. The lovers embrace each other and a jealous rival with a devilish plan in her head approaches. It is the tamer Helene Marteau who diabolically wants to get rid of Edith by pushing the bolt back on the cage and thus allowing the lions access to the kennel. One after the other step calmly into the enclosure without the lovers being aware of the danger at first. But then Edith shows all of her art and in the face of big cats eyeing her closely, she dances the dance of the Bajadere , which publicly beguiles both her lover and the lions. Finally Edith sinks into the arms of her lover, who carries the daring dancer out of the kennel behind the safety bars.

Production notes

The lion's bride was filmed in the Bioscop studio in Neubabelsberg from October to December 1913 . The four-act act with a length of 1321 meters passed the film censorship on February 2, 1914 and was premiered that same month. The success must have been so great that the same production company commissioned Emil Albes to produce a parody of this film entitled Der Sängerkrieg im Löwenkäfig , which was released on March 27, 1914.

Hanns Heinz Ewers was in charge of the artistic direction. The voice to be heard on the audio images belonged to Enrico Caruso .

The buildings came from the hand of Robert A. Dietrich . Dietrich had produced these elaborate, exotic-looking decorations for the adventure and love film Kadra Sâfa, which had been staged by Stellan Rye immediately before , and built a complete “oriental street” for it, which stood until after the First World War and served as a backdrop for various other films.

Web links