Menschen am Sonntag (1930)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Directors:

Curt Siodmak
Robert Siodmak

Writers:

Curt Siodmak (writer)
Robert Siodmak (source material)

Release Date:

4 February 1930 (Germany)

Genre:

Documentary | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Edwin, a taxi driver, lives with Annie, a neurasthenic model. They plan to spend Sunday at the Nikolassee beach with Wolfgang...

Plot Keywords:

Semi Documentary

Cast

Erwin Splettstößer	...	Himself (taxi driver)
Brigitte Borchert	...	Herself (record seller)
Wolfgang von Waltershausen	...	Himself (wine seller)
Christl Ehlers	...	Herself (an extra in films)
Annie Schreyer	...	Herself (model)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kurt Gerron	...	Himself
Valeska Gert	...	Herself
Heinrich Gretler	...	Himself
Ernö Verebes	...	Himself

Also Known As:

People on Sunday

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

Germany

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Filmstudio Berlin

Trivia:

The film was a major hit when it was released in Germany in 1930. Five of the people who worked on the film who went on to direct films in Hollywood: Curt Siodmak, his brother Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, Fred Zinnemann and Billy Wilder.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Weekend am Wannsee (2000) (TV)

What Hitler destroyed! An effortless depiction of the joy of life.

Extraordinary and very simple silent film, put together by some of the most remarkable talents of Twentieth Century Cinema - just read those credits! Within a few years most of these people were in Hollywood, and Hitler had destroyed both the wonderful film industry they had helped build and the joyous Berlin that this film depicts.

The film tells the story of four strangers, two men and two women, enjoying a lazy Sunday by a lake in Berlin. Nothing much seems to happen, but there is a lot going on, as the four interact. There is innocence, the potential for love, the danger of sex, the force of jealousy and the pain of longing. And through it all is the joy of living!

Magnificently shot - largely in extreme close-up - the film allows us a glimpse of Berlin between the wars and it is sad to watch it with the knowledge of what was soon to be. It would have been impossible to make this film with dialogue - the words would have destroyed the nuance and the emotion. It reveals the power of silent cinema.

If the print you see is without a soundtrack, as mine was, then may I recommend playing the Essential Marlene Dietrich during the film. I did this and the combination was unforgettable.