Variety (1925)

Prologue: The murderer "Boss" Huller - after having spent ten years in prison - breaks his silence to tell the warden his story. "Boss", a former trapeze artist, and his wife own a cheap ... See full summary »

Director:

Ewald André Dupont (as E.A. Dupont)

Writers:

Felix Hollaender (novel), Ewald André Dupont (scenario)

Stars:

Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Lya De Putti

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emil Jannings	...	Boss Huller
Maly Delschaft	...	Frau Huller
Lya De Putti	...	Bertha-Marie
Warwick Ward	...	Artinelli
Alice Hechy
Georg John	...	Seeman
Kurt Gerron	...	Hafenarbeiter
Paul Rehkopf	...	Zuschauer auf dem Jahrmarkt
Charles Lincoln	...	Spanischer Artist
Georg Baselt
Trude Hesterberg	...	Zuschauerin imm Varieté
Werner Krauss	...	(unconfirmed)
The Flying Codonas	...	Acrobatic Ensemble (as Die Drei Codonas)
Alex Hyde and his Original New York Jazz Orchestra	...	Alex Hyde and His Original New York Jazz Orchestra
Enrico Rastelli	...	Jongleur

Storyline

Prologue: The murderer "Boss" Huller - after having spent ten years in prison - breaks his silence to tell the warden his story. "Boss", a former trapeze artist, and his wife own a cheap side-show that displays ''erotic sensations''. But he longs for his former glamorous life in the circus. When he meets the orphan Berta-Marie, he falls under her spell and leaves his wife and young son behind. He makes Berta-Marie his partner in a new trapeze number. One day, the famous trapeze artist Artinelli takes note of them and engages them for his trapeze show in Berlin. Their salto mortale becomes an immediate sensation. Calculatedly and cold, Artinelli seduces Berta-Marie and destroys "Boss'" happiness.

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Plot Keywords:

trapeze artist | son | prison | orphan | circus | 

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Taglines:

Giving death the laugh in mid-air! A ship high above the heads of the crowd-and! "Thrill-packed" is the word! (Print Ad- Antioch News, ((Antioch, Ills.)) 21 October 1926)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Because the film was produced in Germany, it was not made with the intent to pass the newly established MPPDA's "Hays Code" which had been introduced the year before with hopes of mollifying the more than 100 local and state censorship boards around the United States. These boards quickly took an ax to the film, cutting, on average, enough footage to fill two film reels. New York made the fewest cuts, removing slightly less than one reel of footage.

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Connections

Referenced in Sawdust and Tinsel (1953)

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Soundtracks

Vaudeville
Theme song for British release
Music by Vivian Ellis
Lyrics by William Helmore

User Reviews

Silly Story, Great Cinematography.

The Plot: Prologue: The murderer "Boss" Huller - after having spent ten years in prison - breaks his silence to tell the warden his story.

"Boss", a former trapeze artist, and his wife own a cheap side-show that displays ''erotic sensations''. But he longs for his former glamorous life in the circus.

When he meets the orphan Berta-Marie, he falls under her spell and leaves his wife and young son behind.

He makes Berta-Marie his partner in a new trapeze number. One day, the famous trapeze artist Artinelli takes note of them and engages them for his trapeze show in Berlin. Their salto mortale becomes an immediate sensation. Calculatedly and cold, Artinelli seduces Berta-Marie and destroys "Boss'" happiness.

If you are watching a version shorter than 112 minutes, you are watching the edited version. My screening was 83 minutes so I know there were lots of scenes cut out.

Still, it's an interesting movie. Yes, the story line is dated, but I assume that was not the case back in 1925.

The direction is really good.

I found interest in watching how people lived back then. Smoking all the time indoors, the luggage used, the different acts at the circus (which, BTW, was not a circus as we know it today, more a vaudeville show).

All the guys wear suits and ties and hats. A different time and place.

Anyway..it's true that the story is not complex. And it's also true that the female lead is not especially attractive. Nor is she slim. And Jannings is laughably overweight to be an acrobat.

The guy who is is stunt double for the acrobat scenes is literally 80 pounds lighter!

Despite all...watch it for the cinematography!

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

None German

Release Date:

31 January 1926 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Jealousy

Box Office

Gross USA:

$709,613

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universum Film (UFA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 112 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1