''24 Hours in the Life of a Woman'' (german: 24 Stunden aus dem Leben einer Frau) is a 1931 German

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Robert Land Robert Land (1887–1940) was an Austrian-Jewish film director of Moravian descent. Biography Born as Robert Liebmann to a German-speaking Jewish Family in Kroměříž. Land moved to Vienna to study German literature and art history. He started ...

and starring

Henny Porten Frieda Ulricke "Henny" Porten (7 January 1890 – 15 October 1960) was a German actress and film producer of the silent era, and Germany's first major film star. She appeared in more than 170 films between 1906 and 1955. Biography Frieda Ulrick ...

Walter Rilla Walter Rilla (22 August 1894 – 21 November 1980) was a German film actor of Jewish descent. Siegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn Books (2007), pg. 213 He appe ...

and

Friedrich Kayßler Friedrich Martin Adalbert Kayssler, also spelled Kayßler (7 April 1874 – 30 April 1945), was a German theatre and film actor. He appeared in 56 films between 1913 and 1945. Biography Kayssler was born in Neurode in the Silesia Province o ...

.Grange p. 373 It is based on Stefan Zwieg's novella ''

Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman ''Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman'' (german: Vierundzwanzig Stunden aus dem Leben einer Frau) is a 1927 novella by the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig. It was filmed in 1931, 1944, 1952, 1968, and 2002. A television movie was telecast in 19 ...

''. The film was produced by

Seymour Nebenzal Seymour Nebenzal (22 July 1899 – 23 September 1961) was an American-born Jewish-German film producer. He produced 46 films between 1927 and 1961. Biography Germany He got into film production through his father Heinrich Nebenzahl (1870– ...

's Nero Film in conjunction with Porten's own production company. It was shot at the

Terra Studios The Terra Studios or Marienfelde Studios were film studios located in the Berlin suburb of Marienfelde. The studios were originally a glasshouse constructed in 1913 by the early company Eiko Film, controlled by the producer Franz Vogel who ha ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. The film's

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

was by

Franz Schroedter Franz Schroedter (9 May 1897 – 14 November 1968) was a German art director.Giesen p.212 Selected filmography * '' The Black Count'' (1920) * ''The Dance of Love and Happiness'' (1921) * ''The New Paradise'' (1921) * '' The Queen of Whitechapel ...

Plot

Helga Vanroh never really got over the death of her husband and has withdrawn from life entirely. Her self-chosen loneliness comes to an abrupt end one day when she meets a young man in the casino who, like her, seems to be a lost soul. This man, Sascha, has the misfortune written all over his face. He loses bet after bet when gambling. Helga is fascinated by him, finally follows Sascha to his hotel and is able to stop the desperate young man from committing suicide at the last moment. The two lonely people find each other, and Helga soon realizes that he has become more for her - more than a fleeting acquaintance, more than she originally wanted to allow. She spends the following day with him and eventually provides him with the financial means to break his apparent gambling addiction and travel on. The young man then promises Helga that he will return to his homeland in view of the unexpected windfall. But Sascha is weak, and so Helga, to her great disappointment, has to realize that he is back at the gaming table the following evening, because his passion is stronger than any good intentions.

Cast

as Helga Vanroh *

as Sascha Lonay *

as Professor Merk *

Margo Lion Margo Allison Lion (October 13, 1944 – January 24, 2020) was a producer for plays and musicals both on Broadway and off-Broadway, known for her role in producing the stage and screen hit ''Hairspray''. Combined, the works Lion produced won 20 ...

as Frau Köhler *

Hermine Sterler Minna Stern (20 March 1894 – 25 May 1982), known professionally as Hermine Sterler, was a German-American actress whose career spanned both the silent and the talkie film eras on two continents. Career Sterler, who appeared in several Ho ...

as Erika *

Maria Koppenhöfer Maria Koppenhöfer (11 December 1901 – 29 November 1948) was a German film actress. Selected filmography * ''The Opera Ball'' (1931) * '' 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman'' (1931) * '' Unheimliche Geschichten'' (1932) * '' The First Right of th ...

as Spielbankbesucherin *

Walter Steinbeck Walter Steinbeck (26 September 1878 – 27 August 1942) was a German film actor. Steinbeck was born in Niederlößnitz (now Radebeul), Saxony, Germany. He died at age 63 in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * ''The Romance of a Poor Sinn ...

as Hotelgast *

Hadrian Maria Netto Hadrian Maria Netto (1885–1947) was a German stage and film actor.Giesen p.228 He was also a playwright. Selected filmography * '' A Woman for 24 Hours'' (1925) * ''Destiny'' (1925) * '' The Armoured Vault'' (1926) * ''Love in the Cowshed'' (19 ...

as Sekretär

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1931 films Films of the Weimar Republic German drama films 1931 drama films 1930s German-language films Films based on works by Stefan Zweig Films directed by Robert Land German black-and-white films Films produced by Seymour Nebenzal Films based on Austrian novels Nero-Film films Films shot at Terra Studios 1930s German films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub