Satan opium

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Movie
Original title Satan opium
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1915
length approx. 96 (1921 version) minutes
Rod
Director Siegfried Dessauer
production Imperator-Film, Berlin
camera Heinrich Gärtner
occupation

Satan Opium is a German silent film drama from 1915 directed by Siegfried Dessauer .

action

The rich American Marc Olander has his eye on the beautiful dancer Edith Ruth and is determined to marry her. But Ruth has a dark secret: in her free time she likes to hang out in opium dens and is passionate about being drunk. However, Olander's sly Chinese servant Yo-Ching Han knows about this vice, who himself has a great interest in the dancer and intends to steal her from his boss through unfair means. Therefore he supports Edith's urge to consume opium to the best of his ability. By chance, Olander found out about Edith's drug addiction shortly before the scheduled engagement party. His bride-to-be promises him now, holy and sacred, that she will keep her hands off her vice from now on.

On the day of the engagement, Yo-Ching Han is dispatched to bring Edith the engagement jewelry and drive her to the ceremony. But the Chinese tempts the girl to treat herself to an opium pipe beforehand and thus makes her intoxicated. When Edith does not arrive at his house, Marc goes to her and sees her lying on an ottoman in a drugged state . Outraged by the breach of her word, the American leaves her with a piece of paper that says that her behavior has destroyed their mutual happiness. Once again in full possession of her intellectual powers, Edith hurries to her lover's villa to clear things up. But his Chinese servant blows her access, allegedly on behalf of his master.

He sits contrite in his room, inconsolable about the loss of his bride, in which he believes he was so wrong. The devious Yo-Ching Han tries to be her alleged comforter by leading Edith into an opium den, where she can make her forget all her love afflictions. Drunk quickly, she becomes his personal prisoner there. Marc Olander has decided to forgive his girlfriend and try again with her. But wherever he looks for Edith, she is as if swallowed by the earth. Soon Yo-Ching Han doesn’t seem safe enough for the kidnapped woman to hide, and he decides to put her where no one is guaranteed to find her: in a secret chamber in Olander's villa, where the Chinese like to treat themselves to a pipe .

Rather by chance, Marc finds out that his supposedly loyal servant is playing the wrong game and is behind Edith's disappearance. So he chases Yo-Ching Han from the farm, but he finds his way back to his room by stealth, from which he wants to drag the supposedly drugged Edith away. But meanwhile she is back to herself and screams for help. Her future fiancé hears this, and a fierce battle ensues between him and the Chinese, in which the latter is defeated. Now nothing stands in the way of Marc and Edith's engagement.

Production notes

Satan Opium passed censorship in December 1915 and was initially banned for the duration of the First World War. When a new submission was made in early 1916, however, this ban was lifted. As a result, Satan Opium presumably had its world premiere in April 1916. However, the film was already available for viewing by Austrian film experts at the end of 1915. Initially a four-act act, the film was shown after another censorship in 1921 in a length of five acts at around 2190 meters.

criticism

“At the Austrian-Hungarian. In the cinema industry, we recently had the opportunity to see an Imperator film acquired by this company, which, in our opinion, is to be counted among the best moral pictures that have appeared so far and due to the originality of the material, due to the truly artistic execution, due to magnificent Photography deserves special attention due to its picturesque scenery and first-class presentation. (...) A dance scene in which the heroine of the drama performs a mummy dance has the most beautiful effect. Among the actors, the well-known Berlin actor Lupu Pick should be mentioned in the first place, who plays the role of the Chinese servant with unrivaled mastery. "

- Cinematographic review of January 2, 1916. p. 77

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ According to Gerhard Lamprecht: Deutsche Stummfilme 1915-1916, p. 275. The German Early Cinema Database writes that the film was shown in December 1915 for the reopening of the Tauentzienpalast .
  2. ↑ cf. Review in the Kinematographische Rundschau of January 2, 1916, p. 77

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