''A World Without Men'' (''Die Welt ohne Männer'') is a 1914

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

made in Germany just before the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

James Lyon
''Serbia and the Balkan Front, 1914: The Outbreak of the Great War''
Bloomsbury (2015) - Google Books and directed by

Max Mack Max Mack (1884–1973) was a German screenwriter, film producer and director during the silent era. He is particularly known for his 1913 film ''The Other''. He directed, and co-starred in, an early film adaptation of ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' in ...

. A comedy, it was written by Alexander Engel and Julius Horst. The popular British entertainer

Madge Lessing Madge Lessing (27 November 1873 – 14 August 1966) was a British stage actress and singer, panto principal boy and postcard beauty of Edwardian musical comedy who had a successful career in the West End in London, Europe and on Broadway f ...

appeared at the Berlin Metropol in Berlin for four years before the start of World War I and during that period she made a number of films for

including ''

The Blue Mouse ''The Blue Mouse'' (german: Die blaue Maus) is a 1928 German silent comedy film directed by Johannes Guter and starring Jenny Jugo, Harry Halm, and Brita Appelgren. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jacek Rotmil Jacek Rotmil ...

'' (1913), ''

Where Is Coletti? ''Where Is Coletti?'' (german: Wo ist Coletti?) is a 1913 German silent comedy film directed by Max Mack and starring Hans Junkermann, Madge Lessing, and Heinrich Peer. It was a major commercial hit on its release. The film's sets were designe ...

'' (1913) and ''A World Without Men'' (1914).Madge Lessing
-

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

database

Synopsis

A comedy in four acts, the film

parodied A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

the concerns at that time in Germany regarding

women's emancipation Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

. The film centres on a young woman named Gusti (Madge Lessing), one of three sisters who refuse to consider any sort of a relationship with a man, believing that marriage simply confirmed the cruel dominance of men over women. However, Gusti meets a suitable suitor, Dr. Carl Waldeck (Otto Treptow) with whom she falls in love and their growing relationship leads to various comedic situations. She changes her mind about the beastly nature of men as she falls more for her handsome and near-perfect suitor.Rudolf Kučera
''Rationed Life: Science, Everyday Life, and Working-Class Politics in the Bohemian Lands, 1914-1918''
Berghahn Books (2016) - Google Books pgs. 94-95

Cast

... Gusti *Ida Frey ... Paula *Alvine Davis ... Christel *Otto Treptow ... Dr. Carl Waldeck *Herbert Paulmüller ... Dr. Specht *Erwin Fichtner ... Assistant Fritz *Martha Hoffmann ... Ludmilla *Willy Lengling ... Schreiber Süssmilch

References

External links

''A World Without Men''
on

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

1914 films 1914 comedy films German comedy films Films of the German Empire German silent feature films Films directed by Max Mack German black-and-white films Silent comedy films 1910s German films 1910s German-language films {{1910s-Germany-film-stub