Honor (1917)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | honor |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1917 |
| length | approx. 74 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Joe May Hans Oberländer |
| script | Joe May |
| production | Joe May |
| occupation | |
| |
Honor is a German silent film melodrama from 1917 by Joe May with his wife Mia May in the lead role.
action
The action begins in Chicago . There Ralph O'Donell owns one of the largest breweries in town. Young Helene Berger works for him, and Ralph has an eye on her. They both fall in love and eventually get married. At first it was all sunshine and the relationship resulted in two children. When Helene's aunt, with whom she grew up, dies in Europe, Mrs. O'Donell has become a universal heir overnight. You travel to Europe together to see the heritage. Helene hangs wistful memories on site, while her husband uses the time to visit business friend Zell. Ralph is extremely jealous and, before the wedding, asked Helene to promise that he had never loved another man before him. He is all the more appalled to see Helene rummaging through old love letters when he surprisingly returns home earlier. Startled, Helene throws the letters into the open fire so as not to give her husband any reason to be jealous. A letter falls next to it and thus escapes the flames. This is picked up and read by Ralph. So yes: there was a man in Helene's life before him! Ralph is boiling, so his wife lied to him!
O'Donell consults with his business friend, Zell, who advises him to talk to the well-known lawyer Dr. West, a divorce specialist. West believes that the sender of the letter has to be found out in order to summon him as a witness in a possible divorce process. As the lawyer reads the letter, he is horrified to see that he once wrote this letter himself. The antiquated understanding of honor would require Dr. West explains to O'Donell and then kills himself with a revolver shot. But understandably the lawyer doesn't feel the slightest desire to commit suicide because of such an old camel. While Hans West is desperately looking for a walkable way out, at home Helene hangs over her old memories of her childhood love. They had met once in the flower shop where she worked as a saleswoman. Their luck began to blossom, but one day Hans West wrote her a farewell letter stating that his career was currently more important to him than a relationship with her.
While Helene is indulging in her sad memories, Ralph returns and explains that he has filed for divorce and will be moving to the hotel. All of Helene's pleading and begging does not help, Hagestolz leaves the house. As a result, Helene first fainted, befitting her class. It is Hans West who finds her because he wants to consult with Helene about what to do next. Helene demands that he destroy the remaining letter and tell her husband that he was unable to track down the sender. Ralph leaves his former love cool and leaves her house again. At the next meeting with his client, West explains to him that he himself was the writer of the letter, but that the relationship between Helene and him was never more than a purely friendly character. O'Donell doesn't believe him and announces that he wants to find a new lawyer.
Finally, the trial is pending, and Helene makes one last attempt at reconciliation with her stubborn husband. It wasn't until she swore in the lives of her two children that between her and Dr. West has never done anything intimate, he is ready for reconciliation. She rushes home to begin preparations for her return to Chicago immediately. Since Hans West had also received a summons before the court, he now goes to Ralph and confesses that he had an affair with Helene. At this very moment, Helene comes along and now confesses everything. Ralph throws her in front of the door, and Helene wonders whether she shouldn't go into the water. Full of anger at Hans West, she rushes to his apartment and wants to confront him. When she gets there, she finds her former teenage lover dead. West's servant, who had gotten wind of an announced shipment of money, then murdered and robbed his master. Helene wants to flee and is followed and arrested a little later by the police who had been called by West's housekeeper. All of this is too much for the poor, and in prison Helene begins to go mad. Eventually the unfortunate woman is taken to an institution for the insane, where she visits Ralph regularly.
Production notes
Honor had four acts and was 1,496 or 1,537 meters long, depending on the version. The film passed film censorship in June 1917 and was banned from youth. The world premiere took place on June 17, 1917 in Berlin's Tauentzienpalast .
criticism
“The plot of this film unrolls a tragedy that literally has the greatest and most lasting effect on the viewer. (...) In addition to this harrowing and therefore doubly captivating subject, the development can also be admired, which shows a deep understanding of art and a complete immersion in the intentions of the author. In addition, the director makes use of the excellent technical means. But what makes this film a masterpiece are the brilliant acting performances, which can be described as the best of the best. "
Individual evidence
Web links
- Honor in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Honor at The German Early Cinema Database
- Honor at filmportal.de