''By a Silken Thread'' (german: Am seidenen Faden) is a 1938 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 ...

directed by Robert A. Stemmle and starring

Willy Fritsch Willy Fritsch (27 January 1901 – 13 July 1973) was a German theater and film actor, a popular leading man and character actor from the silent-film era to the early 1960s. Biography Early life He was born Wilhelm Egon Fritz Fritsch, the only s ...

, Carl Kuhlmann and

Käthe von Nagy Ekaterina Nagy von Cziser, better known by her stage name Käthe von Nagy (4 April 1904 – 20 December 1973), was a Hungarian actress, model, dancer, and singer who worked in the German and French cinema. Early life and education Käthe von Nag ...

. The film was intended to be an exposure of "crooked

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

capitalists" in line with

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

racial policy of the era. It was shot at the

Babelsberg Studios Babelsberg Film Studio (german: Filmstudio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the second oldest large-scale film studio in the world only preceded by the Danish Nordisk Film (est. 1906), producing films since ...

UFA Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital city, capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Ufa River, Ufa rivers, in the centre-n ...

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

.Klaus p.23 The film's sets were designed by the art director Otto Hunte.

Cast

as Richard Hellwerth * Carl Kuhlmann as Wilhelm Eickhoff *

as Lissy Eickhoff * Stella David as Wirtschafterin Frida Mann *

Bernhard Minetti Bernhard Theodor Henry Minetti (26 January 1905 – 12 October 1998) was a German actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1931 and 1996 but is mostly known for his distinguished stage career. Selected filmography *''The Murderer Dimitri Kara ...

as Dr. Heinrich Breuer *

Erich Ponto Erich Johannes Bruno Ponto (14 December 1884 – 14 February 1957) was a German film and stage actor. Career Erich Ponto was born in Lübeck as the son of a merchant. After his family had moved to Hamburg- Eimsbüttel, he attended the gymnasium ...

as Theodor Kalbach *

Willi Schur Willi Schur (22 August 1888 – 1 November 1940) was a German actor and singer. He appeared in roughly ninety feature films in a variety of supporting roles. Selected filmography * '' Berlin-Alexanderplatz'' (1931) * ''Who Takes Love Seriously? ...

as Werkmeister Schwafels *

Paul Bildt Paul Hermann Bildt (19 May 1885 – 13 March 1957) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1910 and 1956. He was born and died in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * ''Devil in Silk'' (1956) * '' Ich suche D ...

as Bankier Brögelmann * Eduard Wandrey as Justizrat Bellert *

Hildegard Barko Hildegard is a female name derived from the Old High German ''hild'' ('war' or 'battle') and ''gard'' ('enclosure' or 'yard'), and means 'battle enclosure'. Variant spellings include: Hildegarde; the Polish, Portuguese, Slovene and Spanish Hilde ...

as Dienstmädchen Anna * Ina Albrecht as Gast bei Eickhoffs Fest * Johanna Blum as Gast bei Eickhoffs Fest * Hildegard Busse as Gast bei Eickhoffs Fest *

Alfred Karen Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interl ...

as Gast bei Eickhoffs Fest * Ethel Reschke as Gast bei Eickhoffs Fest *

Rudolf Schündler Rudolf Ernst Paul Schündler (17 April 1906, in Leipzig – 12 December 1988, in Munich) was a German actor and director. He played "Karl" in ''The Exorcist'' (1973). After finishing the film '' The Nasty Girl'', Schündler died of a heart attac ...

as Von Tettenboom *

Peter Elsholtz Peter Ludwig Wilhelm Elsholtz (20 October 1907 – 30 August 1977) was a German stage and film actor.Giesen p.193 Selected filmography * '' The Castle in Flanders'' (1936) * '' Truxa'' (1937) * '' The Ruler'' (1937) * ''Ride to Freedom'' (1937) ...

as Passagier auf dem Rückkehrschiff *

Robert Forsch Robert Herbert Forsch (January 13, 1950 – November 3, 2011) was an American professional baseball player who spent most of his sixteen years in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Cardinals (1974–1988) before finishing his pl ...

as Passagier auf dem Rückkehrschiff * Vera Hartegg as Passagier auf dem Rückkehrschiff * Walter Schramm-Duncker as Passagier auf dem Rückkehrschiff * Erich Bartels as Reisender im Zugabteil * Brunhilde Födisch as Reisende im Zugabteil * Ursula Zeitz as Dienstmädchen bei Eickhoffs Fest * Adolf Fischer as Arbeiter bei Hellwerth * Wolfgang Staudte as Arbeiter bei Hellwerth * Hans Sobierayski as Polizist, der Lizzy abführt *

Clemens Hasse Clemens Hasse (13 April 1908 – 28 July 1959) was a German actor and synchroniser. Biography Hasse was born in Königsberg, East Prussia to a public official and attended his stage education at the ''Preussisches Staatstheater'' in Berlin. B ...

as Polizist bei der Razzia * Hellmuth Passarge as Polizist bei der Razzia * Illo Gutschwager as Arbeiter bei der Firma Hellwerth * Wera Schultz as Gast bei Eickhoffs Fest *

Werner Pledath Werner Pledath (26 April 1898 – 6 December 1965) was a German actor who appeared in many films during a lengthy career. He generally played supporting roles such as in '' Five from the Jazz Band'' (1932).Youngkin p.465 Pledath specialized in pla ...

as Polizeikommissar bei der Verhaftung *

Georg H. Schnell Georg Heinrich Schnell (11 April 1878 – 31 March 1951) was a German actor who remains perhaps best-known for his role as shipowner Harding in ''Nosferatu, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens'' (1922). Georg appeared in over one hundred fi ...

as Dr. Klipper * Hermann Pfeiffer as Büring *

Wilfried Seyferth Wilfried Seyferth (21 April 1908 – 9 October 1954) was a German actor, perhaps best known for ''Decision Before Dawn''. He was married four times, to four actresses, Eva Ingeborg Scholz, Tatjana Iwanow, Irene Naef and Lu Säuberlich. He died ...

as Verkäufer der Firma Hellwerth * Fritz Klaudius as Herr Kundmann * Eduard Bornträger as Fabrikant * Eric Harden as Fabrikant * Hermann Meyer-Falkow as Fabrikant * Hans Timerding as Fabrikant * Alfred Heynisch as Begleiter Eickhoffs bei der Hochzeitstafel *

Erik von Loewis Erik von Loewis (1904–1986) was a German stage actor and director. He also acted in film and television.Giesen p.186 Born in Estonia, he was of Baltic German heritage. Partial filmography * '' Fridericus'' (1937) - Stabsoffizier * '' Don't Pro ...

as Begleiter Eickhoffs bei der Hochzeitstafel * Franz Weilhammer as Begleiter Eickhoffs bei der Hochzeitstafel * Liesl Eckardt as Beschäftigte an den neuen Maschinen *

Karl Morvilius Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austri ...

as Beschäftigter an den neuen Maschinen *

Albert Venohr Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

as Beschäftigter an den neuen Maschinen * Hildegard Friebel as Büroangestellte bei Hellwerth * Hildegard Unger as Büroangestellte bei Hellwerth * Alfred Pussert as Diener Eickhoffs * Otto F. Henning as Vorsitzender des Arbeitsgerichts * Kurt Klotz-Oberland as Jurist bei der Gerichtssitzung * F.W. Schröder-Schrom as Jurist bei der Gerichtssitzung * Walter Kunkel as Young lawyer *

Kurt Waitzmann Kurt Waitzmann (30 January 1905 – 21 May 1985) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1937 and 1969. Selected filmography * ''Unternehmen Michael'' (1937) - Oblt. Weber * '' Urlaub auf Ehrenwort'' (1938) - Gef ...

as Young lawyer * Inge Conradi as Frl. Fichtner * Karl Fisser * Käthe Jöken-König * Hellmuth Lang * Kurt Weisse

References

Bibliography

* Klaus, Ulrich J. ''Deutsche Tonfilme: Jahrgang 1938''. Klaus-Archiv, 1988. * Kreimeier, Klaus. ''The Ufa Story: A History of Germany's Greatest Film Company, 1918–1945''. University of California Press, 1999.

External links

* 1938 films Films of Nazi Germany German drama films 1938 drama films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Robert A. Stemmle UFA GmbH films German black-and-white films 1930s German films Films shot at Babelsberg Studios {{1930s-Germany-film-stub