Souls that meet at night
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Souls that meet at night |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1915 |
| length | approx. 71 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Eugene Illés |
| script | Eugen Illés based on motifs by Émile Zola |
| production | Atlantic-Film Aarhuus, Berlin |
| occupation | |
| |
Souls that meet at night is a German silent film drama from 1915 by Eugen Illés with Friedrich Zelnik in the leading role.
action
In order to save his sick mother and to enable her to stay at a spa in the sunny south, the young and ambitious but also very poor architecture student Fred Hohn marries the rich, young factory owner's daughter Ilse Hellwig, whom he does not love. Ever since she was seduced by an unscrupulous man, she has had a reputation that in her upper class society can confidently be described as disreputable and which one day could throw a bad light on him. These two souls, who met at night, finally become a couple, an emergency community, a marriage of convenience in which each has something to offer the other: she gives him material security and he gives her the socially recognized rank of a middle-class wife.
Fred finished his studies with diligence and soon became a recognized architect. His ability gradually brings him on the way up; he is making a career. And yet the poison of doubt introduced by Ilse has been at work since the beginning of this not very romantic connection. With her by his side, Fred has only sorrow, because she secretly despises her husband and sees in him only a dowry hunter who has never loved her. It takes a long time for Fred to earn his own wife's respect and for her to acknowledge that he is a decent, hard-working man and has never been after her money. Finding the dishonorable, former seducer Ilses, Rolf Brunner, gives her additional satisfaction. He crashed completely and is now living in a homeless asylum. Finally Ilse begins to learn to love her husband over time.
Production notes
Souls That Meet at Night was filmed in the Literaria-Film-Atelier in Berlin-Tempelhof in spring 1915 , and premiered in May 1915 as part of a press screening in the Berlin Mozart Hall. The three-act was around 1,300 meters long.
criticism
“In the UT Lichtspiele, a poignant film drama“ Souls That Meet At Night ”had a great success. The interesting drama, based on a Zola narrative, has a very moving, gripping plot. (...) Friedrich Zelnik and Sybill Smolowa were in the leading roles of shocking truth in life. "
“The psychological problem of a note marriage… is treated with great skill and some poetic delicacy. In addition, too gaudy motifs disturb, such as finding the seducer again in the asylum for the homeless, for whom a more inner solution could perhaps have been found. But what overlooks these shortcomings is the haunting and skilful playing of Friedrich Zelnik ... and Sybill Smolowa. (…) In terms of film technology, the attempt to enable past events to be narrated by inserting scenes was particularly interesting ... "
"It is one of the few dramas on the screen that can also be thought of as a spoken drama, in other words: it develops a very lively and gripping plot with a strong touch of soul painting. (...) The main characters, Friedrich Zelnik and Fraulein Sybill Smolowa, captivate with their animated, purely toned play. "
"Since there is no lack of exciting scenes, the film is very effective, especially thanks to the play by Friedrich Zelnik and Miss Smolowa."
Web links
- Souls who meet at night in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Souls who meet at night at The German Early Cinema Database - wrongly referred to as a Danish production because of the addition of “Aarhuus” to the name
- Souls that meet at night at filmportal.de