Martyr of love

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Movie
Original title Martyr of love
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1915
Rod
Director Rudolf Biebrach
production Oskar Messter
music Giuseppe Becce
occupation

Märtyrerin der Liebe is a German silent film melodrama from 1915 with Henny Porten in the lead role.

action

Carola Königswerth is a great art lover and is therefore a passionate hobby sculptor. One day the young countess visits an art exhibition with her father, Count Königswerth, and her fiancé, Legation Councilor von Friesen. There she met the famous painter and sculptor Professor Alexander Frey. Carola's father, who knows of his daughter's enthusiasm for art, wants to please her and asks Frey to include her as his student in his master class. One day the professor admits that only Carola, as his personal muse, could inspire him to new art, and asks her to model him. More precisely: he only needs her arm, the shape of which is now being used in his latest sculpture. The aristocratic fiancé is outraged by so much impertinence and shares this with Carola's father. This in turn is so angry about his behavior, namely that her fiancé accuses her of unfair instead of purely artistic motives and throws the engagement ring at his feet. After all, more than just the relationship between artist and model gradually developed between Carola and Frey. They both get married and have a child.

Years of happy relationship have passed since then, and the young woman has become a mature artist herself. Carola now also wants to take part in a competition for a specific sculpture, a fountain figure. Her husband allows this a little patronizingly, in the firm belief that he will win this competition naturally. It comes as it has to: Carola's design wins, her husband's only makes it to second place. Her husband reacts completely disturbed; his envy, born of offended, male vanity, quickly turns into pure hatred. He publicly pushes her back and wants to shoot herself coram publico at a celebration given on the occasion of her victory. Carola is utterly appalled by the obvious pain that has raged in her husband since this defeat, and at the last moment she snatches the gun from him. In order to satisfy his deeply injured ego, she rushes into the room where her first prize will be exhibited and smashes her excellent sculpture in front of the guests. In this berserker act, she injured her creative hand so badly that she could never be artistically active again, and thus deprived herself of her greatest joy. She became a martyr of love for her husband's pleasure. Frey herself is overwhelmed by so much altruism and rushes at her feet. Then he turns to his child and says: "Worship your mother, she is a saint!"

Production notes

Martyr of Love was made in the Messter film studio in Berlin's Blücherstraße 32, was censored in August 1915 and was premiered in several Berlin cinemas on August 27, 1915. The film had three acts.

criticism

"The latest Henny Porten film is a masterpiece of modern filmmaking in every direction and gives the artist ample opportunity to show her skills in the most advantageous way and to emphasize the grace of her appearance."

- Cinematographische Rundschau from August 15, 1915. P. 46 f.

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