''The Crimson Circle'' (german: Der rote Kreis) is a 1929 British-German crime film directed by

Frederic Zelnik Frederic Zelnik (born Friedrich Zelnik, 17 May 1885 – 29 November 1950) was an Austrian producer, director, and actor. He was one of the most important producers-directors of the German silent cinema. Zelnik achieved success through period oper ...

and starring

Lya Mara Lya Mara (born Aleksandra Gudowicz; 1 August 1897 – 1 March 1960) was a Polish actress. She was one of the biggest stars of the German silent cinema. Biography Lya Mara was born Aleksandra Gudowicz in a Polish family in Riga, Governorate ...

Fred Louis Lerch Fred Louis Lerch (28 March 1902 – 26 August 1985) was an Austrian actor who was a star of German films. From 1951 till 1961 he worked again for German cinema as a production manager. Selected filmography * '' The Portrait'' (1923) * '' A Waltz ...

, and Stewart Rome. The film, a co-production between

British International Pictures Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appr ...

and Efzet Film, was made in both a silent version and a sound version filmed in the

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film proce ...

sound-on-film Sound-on-film is a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog ...

system. In March 1929, this film and '' The Clue of the New Pin'', filmed in the British Phototone

sound-on-disc Sound-on-disc is a class of sound film processes using a phonograph or other disc to record or play back sound in sync with a motion picture. Early sound-on-disc systems used a mechanical interlock with the movie projector, while more recent syste ...

process, were previewed in London.BFI Database entry
/ref> The film is an adaptation of the 1922

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

novel '' The Crimson Circle'' in which Scotland Yard detectives battle a gang of blackmailers. A previous UK version was filmed in 1922.

Plot

Police battle against a gang of blackmailers known as The Crimson Circle.

Cast

References

External links

*
''The Crimson Circle'' (1929) at SilentEra
1929 films 1929 crime films British crime films German crime films Films of the Weimar Republic 1920s German-language films Films directed by Frederic Zelnik Films based on British novels Films based on works by Edgar Wallace Transitional sound films British black-and-white films German black-and-white films 1920s British films 1920s German films {{1920s-Germany-film-stub