''Gold'' is a 1934 German

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

directed by

Karl Hartl Karl Hartl (10 May 1899 – 29 August 1978) was an Austrian film director. Life Born in Vienna, Hartl began his film career at the Austrian Sascha-Film company of Alexander Kolowrat and from 1919 was assistant to the Hungarian director Alexande ...

. The film involves a British scientist who is attempting to create a device that turns base materials into gold. He later forces the German scientist's assistant Werner Holk (

Hans Albers Hans Philipp August Albers (22 September 1891 – 24 July 1960) was a German actor and singer. He was the biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1960 and one of the most popular German actors of the twentieth century. Early life ...

), who was working on a similar experiment, to come to his underwater nuclear reactor to help him. ''Gold'' was made in both German-language and French-language versions with

Brigitte Helm Brigitte Helm (born Brigitte Gisela Eva Schittenhelm, 17 March 1906 – 11 June 1996) was a German actress, best remembered for her dual role as Maria and her double named Futura, in Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film, '' Metropolis''. Early life ...

reprising her role in both.

Plot

A German scientist has discovered a theoretical means of transforming lead into gold. Working with his engineer Werner Holk (

), he is literally moments from proving his theory when the lab is blown up by a saboteur. Holk is then hired by the British capitalist who ordered the sabotage and goes to Scotland to see his friend's work recreated on a massive scale in a secret laboratory beneath the North Sea. Swearing revenge, he agrees to help the millionaire and even fraudulently "creates" a bit of gold to fortify the illusion that the machine works. Gaining the confidence of the millionaire's somewhat wayward daughter Florence (

) as well as the workers, Holk puts together a plan to destroy the machine before the artificial gold it would create can wreak havoc on the world economy. The first day of the machine's operation, Holk manages to turn the workers against the millionaire (thus ensuring they'll all get away safely), then only barely escapes himself before the lab is blown up in a spectacular sequence of explosions and strobe lighting.

Production

Director

developed ''Gold'' after the international success of his previous science fiction film ''Der Tunnel''.Hull, 1969. p.56 ''Gold'' was the studio

Universum Film AG UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA (), is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. Its name derives from Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (normally abbreviated as ...

superproduction A blockbuster is a work of entertainment—typically used to describe a feature film produced by a major film studio, but also other media—that is highly popular and financially successful. The term has also come to refer to any large-budget p ...

of that time and reportedly took 14 months to shoot.Hull, 1969. p.57 Actor

sued the production asking for nearly double his salary but lost the case. During this production time, a

French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

version of the film was also made which kept

as the lead actress but changed many of the supporting characters roles. ''L'Or'' was the French-language version of the film that was shot simultaneously with it.

Serge de Poligny Serge de Poligny (1903–1983) was a French screenwriter and film director. Career Serge de Poligny was born in Paris in 1903. He studied art at the École des Beaux-Arts in the class of the painter Maurice Denis. In 1925 he joined the French ...

directed the scenes in French with the script adapted to French by Jacques Thierry.

Cast

German-language version *

as Werner Holk *

as Florence Wills *

Michael Bohnen Franz Michael Bohnen (2 May 1887 – 26 April 1965) was a German bass baritone opera singer and actor. Bohnen was very popular in the Roaring Twenties. Life Michael Bohnen was born in Cologne. He trained in opera singing at the Hochschule fü ...

as John Wills *

Lien Deyers Lien Deyers (formerly Nicolina Dijjers Spanier, born Nicolina Spanier; 5 November 1909 – after March 1982) was a Dutch actress based in Germany. Early life Lien Deyers was born Nicolina Spanier in Amsterdam on 5 November 1909, the daughter of N ...

as Margit Möller *

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 ...

as Prof. Achenbach *

Ernst Karchow Ernst Karchow (1892–1953) was a German stage and film actor.Youngkin p.432 Selected filmography * '' Lotte'' (1928) * '' We Stick Together Through Thick and Thin'' (1929) * '' The Captain from Köpenick'' (1931) * ''Inge and the Millions'' (193 ...

as Lüders *

Eberhard Leithoff Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire * Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, D ...

as Harris *

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 Pitt *

Hans-Joachim Büttner Hans-Joachim Büttner (1900–1973) was a German stage and film actor.Giesen p.211 After the Second World War he appeared in East German films. Selected filmography * '' The White Demon'' (1932) * ''Tugboat M 17'' (1933) * '' Hitlerjunge Quex'' ( ...

as Becker *

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 Brann *

Heinz Wemper Heinz Wemper (8 June 1903 – 15 May 1985) was a German actor. He appeared in 27 films between 1929 and 1943. Selected filmography * '' The Ship of Lost Souls'' (1929) * ''Overnight Sensation'' (1932) * ''Gold'' (1934) * ''Police Report'' (1 ...

as Vesitsch *

Rudolf Platte Rudolf Antonius Heinrich Platte (12 February 1904 – 18 December 1984) was a German actor. Biography Born in Hörde, Westphalia (today part of Dortmund) the son of a merchant, his family moved to Hildesheim three years later. Rudolf left sc ...

as Schwarz *

Heinz Salfner Heinz Salfner (31 December 1877 – 13 October 1945) was a German stage and film actor. Salfner appeared in more than sixty films during his career. He played the lead in the 1932 crime film '' A Shot at Dawn''.Youngkin p.465 Selected filmography ...

as Direktor Sommer *

Erich Haußmann The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

as Sekretär French-language version *

as Florence Wills *

Pierre Blanchar Pierre Blanchar (30 June 1892 – 21 November 1963) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1922 and 1961. Blanchar was married to actress Marthe Vinot, with whom he had a daughter, actress Dominique Blanchar. He playe ...

as François Berthier *

Roger Karl Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

as John Wills * Rosine Deréan as Hélène *

Louis Gauthier Louis Gauthier (12 April 1916 – 6 August 2005) was a French racing cyclist. He rode in the 1947 Tour de France The 1947 Tour de France was the 34th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 25 June to 20 July. The total race dist ...

as Lefèvre *

Jacques Dumesnil Jacques Dumesnil (born Marie Émile Eugène André Joly; November 9, 1903 – May 8, 1998) was a French film and television actor. Early life Jacques Dumesnil was born as Marie Émile Eugène André Joly on November 9, 1903 in Paris, France ...

as Malescot *

Marc Valbel Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

as Harris *

Robert Goupil The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

as Le journaliste *

Pierre Piérade Pierre Piérade (died 1937) was a Belgian stage and film actor.Hardt p.242 Selected filmography * '' Little Lise'' (1930) * ''American Love'' (1931) * '' The Indictment'' (1931) * '' To the Polls, Citizens'' (1932) * ''Here's Berlin'' (1932) * ' ...

as un domestique *

Raoul Marco Raoul Marco (22 November 1892 – 3 April 1971) was a French film actor.Phillips p.215 Partial filmography * ''Bric à Brac et compagnie'' (1931) - Monsieur Verly * ''Le gendre de Monsieur Poirier'' (1933) - Le premier créancier * '' The Red Ro ...

as O'Kelly

Release

''Gold'' premiered in Berlin at the

Ufa-Palast am Zoo The Ufa-Palast am Zoo, located near Berlin Zoological Garden in the New West area of Charlottenburg, was a major Berlin cinema owned by Universum Film AG, or Ufa. Opened in 1919 and enlarged in 1925, it was the largest cinema in Germany until 19 ...

theater on 29 March 1934. The French-language version was shown on 1 June 1934. When the film was reviewed by the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

Censorship boards after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the viewers pondered whether German scientists had been able to build a nuclear reactor long before it was originally thought they did. Parts of the

stock footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...

scenes in ''Gold'' were later used again in the 1953 American film ''

The Magnetic Monster ''The Magnetic Monster'' is a 1953 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Ivan Tors and George Van Marter, directed by Curt Siodmak and (uncredited) Herbert L. Strock. The film stars Richard Carlson, King ...

''.

Reception

In 1934, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' gave the film a positive review stating "So well is this mixture of pseudo science, love and near-love photographed that persons ignorant of German need have no fear of inability to follow the action of "Gold" and "the audience is kept interested in the steps leading up to the dénouement, despite the inordinate length of the film." ''

Wonder Stories ''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Stor ...

'' praised ''Gold'' as "a masterful scientifilm fantasy"."Movie Review", ''Wonder Stories'', February 1935, p.1147 '' Film Daily'' declared the film to be an "Entertaining drama ..has good cast and is essentially interesting form the technical angle." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reviewed the French-language ''L'Or'' stating that the film "depends for is effect on sensational machinery - a Frankenstein electric machine to make synthetic gold - and such makes a certain impression.... Aside from that, pic is commonplace."

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

*
''Gold''
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Gold (1934 Film) 1934 films 1934 multilingual films 1930s science fiction films Films of Nazi Germany 1930s German-language films German science fiction films German black-and-white films Films directed by Karl Hartl German multilingual films Films set in Berlin UFA GmbH films 1930s German films