Victim of society
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Victim of society |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1918 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Willy Grunwald |
| script |
Robert Heymann Robert Wiene |
| production | Oskar Messter |
| occupation | |
and Kurt Brenkendorf , Carl Wallauer , Willy Grunwald | |
Victims of Society is a German silent film drama from 1918 directed by Willy Grunwald with Conrad Veidt in the lead role.
action
At the instigation of the ambitious public prosecutor Chrysander, the dancer Martha Bellina is sentenced to several years imprisonment for murder, since, in his opinion, society must be freed from “such elements”. The condemnation of the unfortunate woman brings him fame and social advancement. Chrysander soon becomes engaged to the daughter of the local court president. Before they can get married, Chrysander discovers Martha's diary and learns about her sad life story.
Martha was seduced at a young age by a student who first made her pregnant and then ran away. A little later, Martha inherited a small inheritance from a man she had looked after for years. In order to give the son a father, she married a man who turned out to be a crook and exploited her. Martha left with her child, took him to a private school to ensure him an optimal education there, and wrote over her entire fortune to him. Then Martha went away and tried herself as a dancer. When her husband found her again, he began to blackmail his wife, whereupon Martha shot the bad boy.
Chrysander, deeply moved by this story, begins to rethink his views of yore. He retires to write a book called Society's Victims . One day his ex-fiancée tries to contact him again. She had meanwhile married another man. The young woman wants to resume the relationship with Chrysander. When her husband shows up, there are fistfights. The husband dies at Chrysander's hand. In court, Chrysander swears that he did not know that his ex was now married. He is not believed and the former public prosecutor is sentenced to death.
Martha Bellina tries to save him, goes to the Justice Minister and informs him that Chrysander is a staunch advocate of law and order on behalf of the state. It turns out that Chrysander is her son who made a career thanks to Martha's self-sacrifice. But the minister of all people is that nefarious seducer of yore who so shamefully let Martha down - at the same time Chrysander's biological father. But the death sentence can no longer be revised. Chrysander is led to the scaffold and executed: he has become a victim of society and its moral principles.
Production notes
Victim of the Society was created in the final phase of the First World War in the Messter-Film-Atelier in Berlin's Blücherstraße 32 and passed film censorship in March 1919. The premiere took place slightly later. The length of the three-act act was, depending on the cut, 1597 or 1654 meters.
The screenwriter Robert Wiene created a variation on this film theme in 1930 with his first sound film director, Der Andere .