Manon Lescaut (1926)

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Movie
Original title Manon Lescaut
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1926
length 97 minutes
Rod
Director Arthur Robison
script Arthur Robison
Hans Kyser based
on the novel Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prevost
production Erich Pommer for UFA , Berlin
music Ernö Rapée
camera Theodor Sparkuhl
occupation
Alexander Binder : Lya De Putti as Manon Lescaut

Manon Lescaut is a German feature film from 1925/26. Directed by Arthur Robison plays Lya de Putti in the title role.

action

France, at the time of the baroque . The young Manon Lescaut is a beautiful, young girl and full of joie de vivre. Her parents want their daughter to lead a monastery life so that she is no longer exposed to the daily temptations of men. Manon and her brother are on their way to Manon's future center of life when the young woman meets the student Des Grieux. He plans to give up his worldly life to become a priest. The two quickly fall in love, but with their brotherly guardian on the neck, Manon holds back for the time being. Eventually she escapes and escapes to Paris. There she met Marquis de Bli, who was just as wealthy as he was no longer very young, an urbane bon vivant who promised a much better match. Although he is madly in love with Manon, she does not hear him.

Because Manon has not forgotten Des Grieux. He confesses his love to the beautiful woman and the two become a couple. But this relationship is not a lucky star. Manon goes into high debt and turns away from her lover. The wealthy Marquis de Bli sees his last chance and tries to buy Manon's affection. Your life is now free from debt, but also free from love and personal freedom - a golden cage. Des Grieux Manon still does not want to give up and even proposes to her. De Bli, seeing his skins swimming away, forges a sinister plan to disavow Manon Lescaut. If he can't have it, then nobody should get it. And so Manon's social decline continues incessantly until one day it ends in the gutter, in the poor house and as a whore on the street.

Production notes

Manon Lescaut was made in June to September 1925 in the UFA studio in Berlin-Tempelhof and in September / October 1925 in the UFA studio in Neubabelsberg . The six-act film passed the censorship on January 22, 1926 and was banned from youth. The premiere took place on February 15, 1926 in the UFA-Palast am Zoo .

Max Wogritsch worked here as production manager. Eugen Schüfftan took care of the special photography with his own process. Paul Leni designed film structures and film costumes , Robert Baberske assisted chief cameraman Theodor Sparkuhl .

Manon Lescaut is already the second German film adaptation of this popular Abbé Prevost material . As early as 1919 Friedrich Zelnik had the novel under the title Manon. The high song of love is filmed with his wife Lya Mara in the lead role.

criticism

Oskar Kalbus , Vom Werden deutscher Filmkunst , wrote: “Manon has never looked more touching than in this film, where Lya de Putti leads her girlishly and recklessly onto the scene, where Desgrieux's unbreakable loyalty finds a brilliant mirror in Gaidarov's male play. The director Robison gives simple fates the glamor of modern film art, and Paul Leni's visual art gives everyone the stylish and dazzling framework that the great Baroque era left behind in pictures and buildings. "

In Heinrich Fraenkel's Immortal Film it says: “The saddest love story in world literature is 'Manon Lescaut', and none has been filmed quite as often as this maudlin novel by Abbé Prevost. Here Lya de Putti as Manon faces her Chevalier (Siegfried Arno) in a painful question. The racy Magyar face of this actress was an asset to German film, and for the role of the famous lovers, she brought not only her famous beauty, but also a very intimate expressiveness. "

In the New York Times , Mordaunt Hall summed up :

“The entertainment value of this subject is considerably enhanced by the presence of Lya de Putti in the title roll. The production has many good points, especially in the scenic effects, the costumes and properties, but it hardly stands comparison with the more worthy efforts that have been sent over here by the Ufa studios. Arthur Robison, the producer of this subject, lacks the skill of a Lubitsch or a Dupont. He has, however, endeavored to put as much glamor as possible into this romance, and Miss de Putti seems singularly well suited to the part of Manon. She makes Manon a crafty wench, who, while her heart beats with fervid affection for Des Grieux, does not forget how new gowns add to feminine beauty. The costs in this production were designed by Paul Leni, and they are of no mean consequence to this photoplay. Other excellent features of this picture are the colorful backgrounds and properties. "

“The entertainment quality of this piece is increased significantly thanks to the presence of Lya de Putti in the title role. The production has a number of assets, especially the scenic effects, the costumes and the props, but it hardly compares to the more elaborate UFA productions that have been sent over to us. Arthur Robison, who made this production, lacks the skills of a Lubitsch or Dupont. He was anxious to put as much glamor into this romance as possible, and Miss de Putti appears to be the ideal cast for the Manon role. She turns Manon into a shrewd whore who, while her heart beats with ardent affection for Des Grieux, does not forget how well new clothes suit the female beauty. The movie costumes were designed by Paul Leni and they don't have a bad impact on this movie. Other excellent items in this flick are the colorful backgrounds and props. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Oskar Kalbus: On the becoming of German film art . 1st part: The silent film . Berlin 1935, p. 54.
  2. ^ Heinrich Fraenkel: Immortal Film. The great chronicle from the Laterna Magica to the sound film. Munich 1956, p. 354.
  3. ↑ Manon Lescaut . In: New York Times. November 30, 1926.