Die freudlose Gasse (1925)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Georg Wilhelm Pabst

Writers:

Hugo Bettauer (novel) and
F.H. Lyon (translator)

Release Date:

5 July 1927 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Vienna in the biggest depression, directly after WW1. In a slum, Lila Leid, the wife of lawyer Leid is murdered...

Plot Keywords:

Money | Food | Nightclub | Depression | Brothel

Cast

Renate Brausewetter	...	Frau (uncredited)
Gregori Chmara	...	Kellner (uncredited)
Mario Cusmich	...	Col. Irving (uncredited)
Agnes Esterhazy	...	Regina Rosenow (uncredited)
Karl Etlinger	...	Max Rosenow (uncredited)
Maria Forescu	...	Uncredited (uncredited)
Jaro Fürth	...	Hofrat Rumfort (uncredited)
Greta Garbo	...	Greta Rumfort (uncredited)
Robert Garrison	...	Don Alfonso Canez (uncredited)
Valeska Gert	...	Mrs. Greifer (uncredited)
Tamara Geva	...	Lia Leid (uncredited)
Ilka Grüning	...	Mrs. Rosenow (uncredited)
Einar Hanson	...	Lt. Davis (uncredited)
Max Kohlhase	...	Maria's Father (uncredited)
Krafft-Raschig	...	American Soldier (uncredited)
Werner Krauss	...	Butcher of Melchior Street (uncredited)
Lya Mara	...	Uncredited (uncredited)
Edna Markstein	...	Mrs. Merkel (uncredited)
Alexander Murski	...	Dr. Leid (uncredited)
Loni Nest	...	Rosa Rumfort (uncredited)
Asta Nielsen	...	Maria Lechner (uncredited)
Iván Petrovich	...	Uncredited (uncredited)
Raskatoff	...	Trebitsch (uncredited)
Otto Reinwald	...	(uncredited)
Henry Stuart	...	Egon Stirner (uncredited)
Gräfin Tolstoi	...	Fräulein Henriette (uncredited)
Sylvia Torf	...	Maria's Mother (uncredited)
Hertha von Walther	...	Else (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Joyless Street (UK)
The Joyless Street (USA)
The Street of Sorrow (USA)
Viennese Love (Canada: English title)

Runtime:

125 min | France:94 min (1981 restored version) | Germany:175 min (1997 restored version) | Spain:109 min | Belgium:115 min (copy with English titles at Brussels Musée du Cinéma) | Germany:148 min (ZDF/arte 1996-1998 restored version) | 142 min (20 fps)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:(Banned) (1925)

Company:

Sofar-Film

Trivia:

The dark-haired woman waiting in the butcher shop line who is often mistaken for Marlene Dietrich is actually Hertha von Walther. She had a much larger role in the original uncut version of the film. She can also be seen as the lab assistant in Geheimnisse einer Seele (1926) with Werner Krauss.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Den talende muse - samtaler med Asta Nielsen (2003)

Memorable Pabst Film, Gritty and Intense

Director G.W. Pabst would later achieve considerable success with such films as PANDORA'S BOX and DIARY OF A LOST GIRL (both starring Louise Brooks), but while his earlier JOYLESS STREET is less sophisticated it is no less effective in its intense and gritty story of poverty and corruption in post-WWI Vienna.

Pabst was particularly noted for his realistic style, and the grainy, harsh look of the film serves well the story of a woman (the celebrated Asta Nielsen) driven to a life of prostitution and crime by her lover's betrayal. Today, however, the film is chiefly recalled as one of Greta Garbo's first major films, and although somewhat stiff, Garbo acquits herself very well in the role of a woman who contemplates prostitution in an effort to provide for her suddenly destitute family.

Considered scandalous at the time of its release, THE JOYLESS STREET was frequently cut for distribution--particularly in America. For many years the film existed only in edited form; the Kino video release, however, restores the film to its original form and length. Recommended.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer