Der rote Kreis (1929 film)
Encyclopedia
Der rote Kreis is a 1929 British
-German
crime film
directed by Frederic Zelnik
and starring Lya Mara
, Fred Louis Lerch
, and Stewart Rome
.
The film, a co-production between British International Pictures and Efzet Film, was made in both a silent
version and a sound version filmed in the Phonofilm
sound-on-film
system. In March 1929, this film and The Clue of the New Pin
, filmed in the British Phototone sound-on-disc
process, were previewed.
The film is an adaptation of the Edgar Wallace
novel The Crimson Circle
in which Scotland Yard
detectives battle a gang of blackmailers. A previous UK version was filmed in 1922.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
-German
Cinema of Germany
Cinema in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema has made major technical and artistic contributions to film.Unlike any other national cinemas, which developed in the context of relatively continuous and stable political systems, Germany witnesses major changes to its...
crime film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
directed by Frederic Zelnik
Frederic Zelnik
Frederic Zelnik was one of the most important producers-directors of the German silent cinema. He also appeared on screen as an actor.-Early life and career:...
and starring Lya Mara
Lya Mara
Lya Mara was one of the biggest stars of the German silent cinema.Lya Mara was born as Aleksandra Gudowicz in a Polish family in Riga, Livonia. As a young girl she wanted to become a chemist, as then famous Maria Skłodowska-Curie...
, Fred Louis Lerch
Fred Louis Lerch
-Selected filmography:* Rutschbahn * Parisiennes * Der rote Kreis * Der Walzerkönig -External links:...
, and Stewart Rome
Stewart Rome
Stewart Rome was a British actor who appeared in more than 150 films between 1913 and 1950. He was born in Newbury, Berkshire in 1886 as Wernham Ryott Gifford but took the stage name of Stewart Rome which was later unsuccessfully contested by Cecil Hepworth who also used the name...
.
The film, a co-production between British International Pictures and Efzet Film, was made in both a silent
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
version and a sound version filmed in the Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film
Sound-on-film
Sound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
system. In March 1929, this film and The Clue of the New Pin
The Clue of the New Pin (1929 film)
The Clue of the New Pin is a British crime film directed by Arthur Maude and starring Benita Hume, Kim Peacock, and Donald Calthrop. The film was one of the few filmed in British Phototone, a sound-on-disc system which used 12-inch discs...
, filmed in the British Phototone sound-on-disc
Sound-on-disc
The term Sound-on-disc refers to a class of sound film processes using a phonograph or other disc to record or playback sound in sync with a motion picture...
process, were previewed.
The film is an adaptation of the Edgar Wallace
Edgar Wallace
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
novel The Crimson Circle
The Crimson Circle (novel)
The Crimson Circle is a 1922 crime novel by the British writer Edgar Wallace. Scotland Yard tackle a secret league of blackmailers known as The Crimson Circle.-Adaptations:The novel has been adapted into films on four occasion....
in which Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
detectives battle a gang of blackmailers. A previous UK version was filmed in 1922.
Cast
- Lya MaraLya MaraLya Mara was one of the biggest stars of the German silent cinema.Lya Mara was born as Aleksandra Gudowicz in a Polish family in Riga, Livonia. As a young girl she wanted to become a chemist, as then famous Maria Skłodowska-Curie...
- Thalia Drummond - Fred Louis LerchFred Louis Lerch-Selected filmography:* Rutschbahn * Parisiennes * Der rote Kreis * Der Walzerkönig -External links:...
- Jack Birdmore - Stewart RomeStewart RomeStewart Rome was a British actor who appeared in more than 150 films between 1913 and 1950. He was born in Newbury, Berkshire in 1886 as Wernham Ryott Gifford but took the stage name of Stewart Rome which was later unsuccessfully contested by Cecil Hepworth who also used the name...
- Derrick Yale - Albert SteinrückAlbert SteinrückAlbert Steinrück was a German film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 88 films between 1910 and 1929...
- Froyant - John Castle - Inspektor Parr
- Otto WallburgOtto WallburgOtto Wallburg was a German actor.-Selected filmography:* Der rote Kreis * Der Hampelmann * Hocuspocus * Yorck * Ihre Majestät die Liebe * Queen of the Night...
- Marl - Hans AlbersHans AlbersHans Philipp August Albers was a German actor and singer. He was the single biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1945 and one of the most popular German actors of the twentieth century.- Life and work :...
- Diener von Marl - Hans Marlow - Birdmore
- Otto TreßlerOtto TreßlerOtto Treßler was a German film actor. He appeared in 43 films between 1915 and 1962.He was born in Stuttgart, Germany and died in Vienna, Austria. He was a close friend to Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria....
- Ministerpräsident - Ilka Grüning - Eine Vermieterin
- Annie Ann - Milly
- Bruno Ziener - Kriminalkommissar
- Hugo Döblin - Pfandleiher
- Ria Weber - Zofe