''Life's Circus'' (German: ''Manege'') is a 1928 German silent

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

Max Reichmann Max Reichmann (1884-1958) was a German film director active during the silent and early sound eras. Before making his own films, Reichmann worked as an assistant director on several E.A. Dupont productions. After graduating to directing, he dire ...

and starring Raimondo Van Riel, Ernst Van Duren and

Kurt Gerron Kurt Gerron (11 May 1897 – 28 October 1944) was a German Jewish actor and film director. He and his wife, Olga were murdered in the Holocaust. Life Born Kurt Gerson into a well-off merchant family in Berlin, he studied medicine before being ca ...

.Bock & Bergfelder p.156 It was shot at the Staaken Studios in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. The film's sets were designed by

Leopold Blonder Leopold Blonder (1893–1932) was an Austrian art director active in the silent and early sound eras.Rother p.236 He also directed five short films during the early 1920s. He worked on several mountain films with Arnold Fanck and Leni Riefenstahl ...

. It was made by the German branch of First National Pictures and premiered at the

Marmorhaus The Marmorhaus (English: Marble House) is a former cinema located on the Kurfürstendamm in Berlin. Opened in 1913, it takes its name from a large marble façade. Designed by the architect Hugo Pál, the walls of the foyer and auditorium were de ...

in Germany's capital city.

Cast

* Raimondo Van Riel as Gaston Flamingo *Ernst Van Duren as Ralf Flamingo *

as Bela Garay *

Lucie Höflich Lucie Höflich (born Helene Lucie von Holwede; 20 February 1883 – 9 October 1956) was a German actress, teacher and head of the Staatliche Schauspielschule (State Drama School) in Berlin.

as Seine Frau * Mary Johnson as Eve Garay * Valerie Boothby as Frau im Nordexpress *

Valy Arnheim Valy Arnheim (born Valentin Theodor Woldemar Appel; 8 June 1883 – 11 November 1950) was a German film actor and director. Selected filmography * '' Lightning Command'' (1921) * ''Anne-Liese of Dessau'' (1925) * '' Harry Hill's Deadly Hunt'' (1 ...

as Der Stallmeister *

Alexander Murski Alexander Alexandrovich Murski ( Russian: Александр Александрович Мурский) (1 November 1869 – April 1943) was a Saint Petersburg, Russian-born German actor. Murski died in 1943 in Toulouse, Midi-Pyrénées, Fra ...

as Der Direktor

References

Bibliography

* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise Cinegraph: Encyclopaedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

* 1928 films Films of the Weimar Republic German silent feature films Films directed by Max Reichmann 1928 drama films Circus films German black-and-white films Silent German drama films Films shot at Staaken Studios 1920s German films {{Germany-silent-film-stub