''The Sinner'' (german: Die Sünderin) is a 1951 West German romantic

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

Willi Forst Willi Forst, born Wilhelm Anton Frohs (7 April 1903 – 11 August 1980) was an Austrian actor, screenwriter, film director, film producer and singer. As a debonair actor he was a darling of the German-speaking film audiences, as a director, one ...

and starring

Hildegard Knef Hildegard Frieda Albertine Knef (; 28 December 19251 February 2002) was a German actress, voice actress, singer, and writer. She was billed in some English-language films as Hildegard Neff or Hildegarde Neff. Early years Hildegard Knef was born ...

Gustav Fröhlich Gustav Fröhlich (21 March 1902 – 22 December 1987) was a German actor and film director. He landed secondary roles in a number of films and plays before landing his breakthrough role of Freder Fredersen in Fritz Lang's 1927 film ''Metropoli ...

and Änne Bruck. It was shot at the Bendestorf Studios and on location in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

Positano Positano (Campanian: ) is a village and ''comune'' on the Amalfi Coast (Province of Salerno), in Campania, Italy, mainly in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast. Climate The climate of Positano is very mild, of the Mediterranean ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

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

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

It is a love story between the prostitute Marina and the unsuccessful artist Alexander, who suffers from a cancer which makes him blind and ill. They are happy for a short period in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Despite Marina's loving care, Alexanders health gets worse and they together commit suicide in the end.

Scandal

It was one of the first German films to break several taboos:

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

and

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

. In the Germany of the 1950s, this caused a lot of negative reactions both by politicians and the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. The opposition reached the degree of banning the film and scandalizing it, which paradoxically made it one of the landmarks in the German film history. Despite or because of the scandal, ''Die Sünderin'' proved to be the breakthrough role of Hildegard Knef.

Cast

as Marina *

as Alexander * Änne Bruck as Marina's mother *

Wera Frydtberg Wera Frydtberg (11 August 1926 – 16 June 2008) was a German film actress, film and television actress. She appeared in ''I Often Think of Piroschka'' (1955) Her best known film ''Wir Wunderkinder'' (known in English as ''Aren’t We Wonderful?'' ...

as a colleague *

Robert Meyn Robert Meyn (16 January 1896 – 2 March 1972) was a German stage, film and television actor.Fehrenbach p.103 Partial filmography * '' The Sinner'' (1951) - Von Hernsdorf - Marinas Stiefvater / Marina's Stepfather * ''Kommen Sie am Ersten'' (19 ...

as Marina's stepfather * Jochen-Wolfgang Meyn as Marina's stepbrother * Andreas Wolf as a doctor

Notes and references

External links

* 1951 films 1951 romantic drama films German romantic drama films West German films 1950s German-language films German black-and-white films Films directed by Willi Forst Films about prostitution in Germany Films about euthanasia Films about suicide Obscenity controversies in film 1950s German films {{1950s-Germany-film-stub