Artisten
Encyclopedia
Artisten is a German circus movie from 1934/1935 starring Susi Lanner, Hans Junkermann, Hilde Hildebrand and Harry Piel
, who also acted as director. The screenplay was written by Max W. Kimmich
after the silent movie The secret of the circus Barré.
and Berlin
. In Dresden, Harry Peel had rent the giant building of the former circus Sarrasani
. Parts of the scenes shot there were filmed publicly and draw a big audience. The money that was collected this way was spent to the Winterhilfswerk
. Later on, the shooting was completed at circus Busch in Berlin. The final movie passed censorship on March 1, 1935, and made its debut on March 12. It was awarded "artificially valuable" by film checkers of the propaganda ministry. Whether it has been banned after the downfall of the Third Reich, is quite unknown. In 1963, it was developed via DFF, the TV programme of the German Democratic Republic
. Nine years later, in 1972, another TV version was broadcasted by the West German ZDF.
Harry Piel
Born Hubert August Piel, Harry Piel in Munich, Germany was a prolific German actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer who was involved in over 150 films....
, who also acted as director. The screenplay was written by Max W. Kimmich
Max W. Kimmich
Max Wilhelm Kimmich was a German film director and screenwriter during the first half of the 20th century...
after the silent movie The secret of the circus Barré.
Plot
The famous artist Harry Peters works on his new vaudeville act at the "Tivoli" music hall. He is assisted by Hella Stoll, who is his foster daughter since her parents, friends of Harry, died years ago. At the premiere of his new act, Harry surprisingly meets his old friend Franz Hofer from Vienna, an agent who also knew Hella as a child. He recognizes immediately that the little girl from the past has turned into a pretty young lady who is deeply in love with her foster father. Harry himself seems to be quite unaware of that. Instead, he finds himself stalked by beautiful Vera Leander, who follows him everywhere. After much hesitation, Harry is that trapped by her that he does not only disregard his job, but also neglects Hella. But after a nearly fatal accident during a dangerous showact, he comes to his senses again and wants to return to Hella. When he recognizes that she has disappeared from the music hall, he suspects she has run away with a magician called Morelli. Furiously, he starts looking for them. He finally finds Morelli backstage, just dyeing his hair. To Harrys surprise, the magician turns out to be a certain Baraloff, the business manager of circus Stoll, the travelling circus that belonged to Hella's parents. He had at that time run away after stealing the whole money and the following alarmus and excursions had finally led to the fatal accident of Hella's parents. Now he can be arrested at last. Harry hands him over to the police and goes on looking for his foster daughter. Finally, he finds her at Hofer's flat, where they talk things out and in the end become a couple.Shooting
The film was produced within three weeks, from December 7, 1934, to the end of the month by the Berlin Ariel film company. Most interiors were shot at the company's studios in Berlin-Johannisthal, while the location shots were produced in DresdenDresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. In Dresden, Harry Peel had rent the giant building of the former circus Sarrasani
Sarrasani
Sarrasani is the name of a German circus which reached world fame before World War II and was resident in Dresden, but became also known as national circus of Argentina during the years of German separation....
. Parts of the scenes shot there were filmed publicly and draw a big audience. The money that was collected this way was spent to the Winterhilfswerk
Winterhilfswerk
The Winterhilfswerk was an annual drive by the Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt to help finance charitable work. Its slogan was "None shall starve nor freeze"...
. Later on, the shooting was completed at circus Busch in Berlin. The final movie passed censorship on March 1, 1935, and made its debut on March 12. It was awarded "artificially valuable" by film checkers of the propaganda ministry. Whether it has been banned after the downfall of the Third Reich, is quite unknown. In 1963, it was developed via DFF, the TV programme of the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
. Nine years later, in 1972, another TV version was broadcasted by the West German ZDF.