Shadow of the underworld

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Movie
Original title Shadow of the underworld
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1931
length 95 (1931) 84 (1971 on DFF broadcast) minutes
Rod
Director Harry Piel
script Henrik Galeen
production Harry Piel
for Ariel-Film, Berlin
music Fritz Wenneis
camera Ewald Daub
cut Andrew Marton
occupation

Shadow of the Underworld is a German adventure and crime film by and with Harry Piel from 1931.

action

Harry West is a daring adventurer and a clever inventor. He has just succeeded in constructing a device with which armor plates can be melted in no time at all. However, his friend Jonny, who was supposed to keep the construction for him, is robbed and also kidnapped. A little later, on the last day of the year, burglars carried out a sensational bank break-in on a grand scale with Harry's invention. With this device it was easy for the gangsters to open the vault door. Just at the moment when he is competing for the favor of the attractive young Irene von Sheridan at a New Year's party, Harry learns of this bad news. Now he's in a mess as the police assume he's deeply involved. Harry has to hurry to track down the real culprits and arrest them.

With a trick he can escape the arrest and tries to track down the kidnapped Jonny. In a mysterious bar that is crammed with hidden microphones and broadcast cameras, he gets very close to the dangerous gang of armored crackers. Here, he concludes, the robbers' hiding place must be. Harry also finds Jonny, who is held prisoner, who is suffering from a gunshot wound. Harry takes Jonny away, to safety. When the police arrive, however, the duped gangsters cast suspicion on Harry. Now the law enforcement officers are absolutely certain that Harry West must be the head of the gang.

Harry pursues the gang as far as Switzerland. He travels to St. Moritz with his future bride, Irene, who lost her entire fortune in the bank break-in . Even getting there is an obstacle course for him, as Harry, who is now wanted, has to come up with a few ideas in order not to be arrested. The robbed bank director Berry resides in a lordly villa in St. Moritz. Berry's behavior is extremely strange, if not to say suspicious, when he visits Irene at the hotel. The young lady adds one and one together and accuses Berry of robbing his own bank. Harry, however, has not been idle. In the final showdown, he can put the gang in Berry's estate and finally neutralize them.

Production notes

Shadow of the Underworld was sold in Austria under the title Der Meisterdieb . Shooting began at the beginning of February 1931 with the outdoor shots in St. Moritz ( Switzerland ) and continued one month later, on March 9, 1931, in the studio. After the film passed the censorship on March 31, 1931, it had its world premiere a few days later in Breslau . The Berlin premiere was on April 27, 1931 in the Ufa-Palast am Zoo . 40 years after its publication, Schatten der Unterwelt experienced its first television broadcast on GDR television.

Harry Piel and his leading actress Dary Holm were married to each other.

The film constructions come from Robert A. Dietrich and Emil Hasler . Charles Métain provided the sound, which was edited by Andrew Marton . Viktor Klein was the production manager and William Zeiske was the production manager. It played Sam Baskini and his band.

A corresponding version was produced for the Spanish-speaking market under the title Sombres des bajos fondos .

criticism

The Österreichische Film-Zeitung wrote about the film: “One punchline replaces another, one sensation chases the next. Piel doesn't give you any time to think about a situation any longer, the events are so crowded, scurrying, kaleidoscopic, past (...) In his specialty, Piel seems inexhaustible of ideas, he always knows how to grasp the viewer anew and what has gone before still to be trumped. "

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "Shadows of the Underworld". In:  Österreichische Film-Zeitung , April 18, 1931, p. 2 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / fil

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