Another problem, another Problemfilm: here it is drug addiction. Curt Jürgens, in the third film he directed, gives a fine portrayal of the morphinist and of the long road to cure. Bravura man Jürgens is not afraid to show the weakest side of the man's character.
The script is weak. There is something about the deeper causes of the addiction (speech defect), but further than mentioning Demosthenes and something about the upbringing by the father, the film does not go. The scene where the wife in her distress wants to take morphine herself, only to follow her husband "for better or for worse", is too ridiculous; it probably tells a lot about what Jürgens thought of women. Instead of concentrating on the two main characters, there is also a sub story that does not add much to main drama.
The script is weak. There is something about the deeper causes of the addiction (speech defect), but further than mentioning Demosthenes and something about the upbringing by the father, the film does not go. The scene where the wife in her distress wants to take morphine herself, only to follow her husband "for better or for worse", is too ridiculous; it probably tells a lot about what Jürgens thought of women. Instead of concentrating on the two main characters, there is also a sub story that does not add much to main drama.
