A night in the steel chamber
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | A night in the steel chamber |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1917 |
| length | approx. 52 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Felix Basch |
| script | Paul Rosenhayn |
| production | Paul Davidson for PAGU |
| occupation | |
| |
A night in the steel chamber is a German silent detective film starring Harry Liedtke as a dissolute bank director, Heinrich Peer as a smart detective and Leopoldine Konstantin as a villainous art shooter in the lead roles. Directed by Felix Basch .
action
Bank director Kendall outwardly lives in a harmonious marriage with his very young wife Jane. Nobody knows that he has a passionate relationship with the Creole Celestine, a well-known art shooter. One day a stranger leaves two tickets for Jane for the variety show in the Viktoria Theater. Celestine also performs here. She goes there accompanied by her husband, who mysteriously disappears shortly after the performance begins and only returns to his place much later. At the dinner that followed, Jane notices that her husband is strangely wearing gloves. When she asked what this was supposed to be, he gave the unbelievable answer that it was a bet. When the couple returned home, the banker discovered that their cash register had been broken into at home. The large sum of money that Kendall had received from his father-in-law for business investments was stolen. The well-known detective Harry Reep is tasked with solving the case.
The nose quickly realizes that the burglar and robber must have been a real dilettante. The cash register was broken in very improperly, and some traces of blood lead to the assumption that the perpetrator must have injured at least one hand. In order to keep his banking business going, Kendall receives the high cash sum of 200,000 kroner from his brother-in-law, Jane's brother, the next day. Kendall hands an employee a cassette with this sum of money and explains that he will have to work through the following night. In fact, at around two o'clock in the morning after the end of his night work, the man found that this cassette was also empty. Harry Reep is informed again. Reep has suspicions. So he disguises himself as Kendall's manager and goes to the palace bar, where the bank manager usually stays at this time. A conversation starts and the masked Reep manages to get Kendall to take off his glove for a moment. In fact, there is a scar on his hand from a cut.
During the subsequent house search of the managing director, during which Kendall is also present, some of the banknotes that were stolen are actually found between some calendar pages. The managing director is surprisingly considered the main suspect. Reep wants to call the police immediately, but on his return he sees Kendall lying on the ground, shot dead. The bank employee cannot say anything about what happened. The following day, Harry Reep is driving down the street in the car with the bank cassette when a life-size doll is thrown in front of the vehicle. Reep's chauffeur has to brake sharply. While the two examine the doll, they do not notice that another vehicle had followed them and was stopping nearby. In this is Celestine, who now jumps out of her car and snatches the cash box. Then she roars away. Reep follows her vehicle at a greater distance. Then Celestine's chauffeur runs out of fuel and has to stop to refuel. Reep takes this opportunity and takes the position of Celestine's chauffeur without her noticing. Reep brings her vehicle to its destination, where the art shooter escapes him with a trick.
A little later, a newspaper note caught Reep's attention. There it is written that Celestine has a new trick in store, the focus of which should be the precise shot through a banknote. In the Viktoria Theater he gets a paper disc that Celestine had previously shot through. Reep wants to compare the calibers - the one here and the one used in the murder of Kendall. Hiding, the snoop awaits Celestine's return, but believes that Celestine can recognize him by his shadow. She allegedly shoots Reep and then runs into the room. But there is only one pole with Reep's hat and coat that she has perforated. A scuffle breaks out between her and the approaching Harry Reep, in which he snatches the cash box she was carrying. But this is empty. Only at second glance does Reep recognize that the cassette has a double bottom. Celestine, who now knows that she has played out, then shoots herself. In a found, explanatory letter from Kendall to Celestine, it is written that he killed himself because he had suspected other people through his embezzlement, a crime to have committed. He could no longer live with this guilt.
Production notes
A Night in the Steel Chamber was shot in mid-1917 and passed German film censorship in December of the same year. The issued the strip for the German Reich a performance ban for the duration of the war. The local premiere presumably took place at the end of 1918, possibly later. For Austria-Hungary, however, there was evidence of a performance as early as August 20, 1917. Depending on the censorship version, the length was 1047 or 1083 meters, divided into three files.
criticism
“This film is not only accused of an interesting criminalistic topic; The technology is also brilliant, state-of-the-art, and the acting is exemplary. It is rare to find such a perfectly harmonious interplay as is the case in this picture. Harry Liedtke is distinguished as a reckless person who becomes a criminal, as is Heinrich Peer as a detective. A special attraction, however, is the well-known actress Leopoldine Konstantin ... In addition to all these advantages, it should also be mentioned that a sensational eye will also be rewarded. "