The legend of St. Simplicia
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The legend of St. Simplicia |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1920 |
| length | approx. 101.85 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Joe May |
| script | Thea of Harbou |
| production | Joe May |
| music | Alexander Schirmann |
| camera |
Werner Brandes Günther Krampf |
| occupation | |
| |
The Legend of Saint Simplicia is a German silent film from 1920 by Joe May with his daughter Eva May in the title role.
action
As a child, the pious Simplicia was given over to monastic life by her dying mother. Soon all of her endeavors to be a faithful servant of God will apply there. Because of their piety, God makes them work miracles from now on. Through prayers and the laying on of hands, she is now able to heal sick people. Venerated as a pious woman and saint Simplicia, the cynical and dishonorable knight Rochus also hears of her beneficial work. He puts it in his head to subject her to the most severe tests "to see how long it takes to turn a saint into a sinner," he says. He sneaks into her monastery and tries to pull the girl completely under his spell. He challenges Simplicia by claiming that the devil personally sent him to destroy her morale. From now on she should curse, steal altar items and throw in monastery windows.
Finally Rochus even persuades her to leave the monastery. But all the sins with which the dark Rochus seeks to destroy the purity of Simplicia, ultimately turns her pious power for good. The theft in the monastery church even saved the complex from a robbery by highwaymen. Finally, the diabolical Rochus puts everything on one card and tries Simplicia one last time to leave the path of virtue and make a sinner: she should break her vow of chastity and spend a night of love with a strange man. Before she surrenders to such a sin, Simplicia prefers to take a dagger and stab her in the chest with suicidal intent. At this moment Rochus realizes the horror of his actions and carries the saint back to the monastery to keep the wake. Your pure nature ultimately converted him, and consequently he too seeks death.
Production notes
The legend of St. Simplicia was planned in 1919 and was created by August 1920 (outdoor photos on the May outdoor area in Woltersdorf). The film passed film censorship on September 30, 1920 and was banned from young people. The length of the six-acter was 2310 meters. The premiere took place on October 8, 1920 in the Berlin Tauentzienpalast . In Austria the film could be seen under the title Sister Simplicia from February 18, 1921.
Martin Jacoby-Boy designed the film structures , assisted by Erich Kettelhut . Robert Wuellner was the production manager and also assisted Joe May in his role as director. The 21-year-old Günther Krampf made his debut alongside his experienced colleague Werner Brandes as co-chief cameraman. With her script for this production, Thea von Harbou began her remarkable career in German film.
Reviews
“A legend of saints with rather secular events, almost ending as a love tragedy. Some of the miracles wrought by the saint find a natural explanation, and others are brought closer to us as processes of a supernatural nature. While the viewer doesn't get much of their money's worth with regard to the actors' play due to the uniformity of the transformation, the director (Joe May) has created wonderful crowd scenes and chosen pretty motifs, just as photography (has) done its best. "
Paimann's film lists summed up: "Very interesting material, very good game, excellent scenery and photos."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sister Simplicia (The Legend of Saint Simplicia) in Paimann's film lists ( Memento of the original from March 14, 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.
