High treason (film)

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Movie
Original title Treason
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1929
length 80 minutes
Rod
Director Johannes Meyer
script Friedrich Raff
Alexander Alexander based on a model by Wenzel Goldbaum
production Alfred Zeisler for UFA , Berlin
camera Friedrich Weinmann
Carl Hoffmann
occupation

Treason is a German silent film from 1929. Directed by John Meyer play Gerda Maurus and Gustav Frohlich the leading roles.

action

Russia at the time of outgoing tsarism. With Grand Duke Kyrill Warsaw receives a new governor general. Crowds line the streets, the tsarist secret police and regular law enforcement officers control anyone who behaves in any way conspicuous. The young Vera has also gone into the crowd, because she plans to assassinate the representative of the tsar. But before she can shoot, a bomb explodes. Although the Grand Duke remains unharmed, panic breaks out among the people. In order not to fall into the hands of the tsarist captors, Vera tries to go into hiding. She finds a temporary hiding place in a poor attic belonging to a student named Wassil. Wassil protects her from the police and both young people get closer emotionally.

While Wassil is caught in the crosshairs of the police looking for the people behind the attack, Vera leaves for Zurich, Switzerland. Vera and Wassil had agreed that he would come as soon as possible. But she waits in vain. Prince Stolin, who strongly ensnares her, tells her one day that the police arrested Wassil instead of her and banished him to Siberia for treason . Wassil had steadfastly refused to reveal Vera's hiding place. Vera asks the powerful aristocrat to use his influence on Wassil's favor. He now sees the possibility of being able to win Vera over with this favor and gives instructions to let Wassil escape. When he actually managed to escape to Zurich, the revolution was under way in Russia, and Prince Stolin was left behind in every respect.

Production notes

High Treason was filmed from June to July 1929 and premiered in Vienna on October 11, 1929 . The German premiere took place on November 9, 1929 in Berlin .

The film is based on the 1928 play Zurich 1917 by Wenzel Goldbaum . The main actress Gerda Maurus had gained fame immediately before through two Fritz Lang films.

The military advice was incumbent on Colonel a. D. Max von Engelhardt. Willi A. Herrmann designed the film structures.

A serious accident occurred during the shooting. The cameraman Friedrich Weinmann was kicked so hard by a horse that his lungs were badly injured. He lived another eight days, then he died as a result of the kick. Carl Hoffmann finished shooting the film.

Reviews

Heinz Pol wrote in the Vossische Zeitung : “A very skilfully made colportage story (...) Otherwise one has an excellent conversation, that is: one does not know beforehand what will happen in the next scene. Main requirement of a well-made puller. The rather unknown director Johannes Meyer shows, especially at the beginning, in the assassination scenes, color and speed, and the social scenes also have momentum. You can tell the Russian school, also the American one. But that doesn't do any harm. It is always pleasant when the student is docile and shows what he has learned without pretension .... "

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 8: T - Z. David Tomlinson - Theo Zwierski. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 .
  2. ^ Vossische Zeitung, Berlin No. 536, of November 13, 1929

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