''Linen from Ireland'' () is a 1939 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
Heinz Helbig
The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six conti ...
and starring
Otto Treßler
Otto Treßler, also Otto Tressler, (13 April 1871 – 27 April 1965) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1915 and 1962. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany and died in Vienna, Austria. He was ...
,
Irene von Meyendorff
Irene von Meyendorff (6 June 1916 – 28 September 2001) was a Russian-born German-British actress.
Biography
Irene von Meyendorff was of Baltic German origin, born in 1916 in Tallinn (then Reval, Russia), Estonia as the eldest child of a German ...
, and
Friedl Haerlin
Friedl Haerlin (29 December 1901 – 17 April 1981) was a German stage and film actress.
During the 1930s she worked in cinema playing glamorous roles, mainly in comedy films. In the late 1930s, in order to boost her flagging career, she attempte ...
.
[Rentschler p. 153] It was part of an ongoing campaign of
anti-Semitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
in German cinema of the era, and was also intended to discredit the governance of the old
Austro-Hungarian Empire. By the time of the film's release in October 1939, Britain and Germany were at war, so it was also useful in creating anti-British sentiment.
It was made as a co-production between the German company
Bavaria Film
Bavaria Film is a German film production and distribution company. It is one of Europe's largest film production companies, with some 30 subsidiaries.
History
The studios were founded in 1919, when Munich-raised film producer Peter Ostermayr ...
and the Austrian
Wien Film
Wien-Film GmbH ("Vienna Film Limited") was a large Austrian film company, which in 1938 succeeded the Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie AG (Sascha Film Company) and lasted until 1985. Until 1945 the business was owned by the Cautio Trust Company (''Cauti ...
which had been created following the
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
of 1938. The film's sets were designed by the
art directors
Robert A. Dietrich
Robert A. Dietrich (28 March 1889 – 8 September 1947) was a German art director.Scheunemann p.277 He designed the sets for more than a hundred films during his career.
Selected filmography
* '' The Student of Prague'' (1913)
* '' The Path of De ...
and
Artur Gunther.
Plot
In 1909, in
Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Jewish general manager of a large
textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
company imports cheaper
linen from
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, intending to drive local manufacturers out of business, which would create mass unemployment among the skilled weavers. The company's elderly owner in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
is unaware of the scheme, but eventually it is exposed.
Cast
*
Otto Treßler
Otto Treßler, also Otto Tressler, (13 April 1871 – 27 April 1965) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1915 and 1962. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany and died in Vienna, Austria. He was ...
as Präsident Kettner
*
Irene von Meyendorff
Irene von Meyendorff (6 June 1916 – 28 September 2001) was a Russian-born German-British actress.
Biography
Irene von Meyendorff was of Baltic German origin, born in 1916 in Tallinn (then Reval, Russia), Estonia as the eldest child of a German ...
as Lilly, seine Tochter
*
Friedl Haerlin
Friedl Haerlin (29 December 1901 – 17 April 1981) was a German stage and film actress.
During the 1930s she worked in cinema playing glamorous roles, mainly in comedy films. In the late 1930s, in order to boost her flagging career, she attempte ...
as Frau von Gebhardt
*
Oskar Sima
Oskar Sima (31 July 1896 – 24 June 1969) was an Austrian actor who is best remembered for appearing in supporting roles in countless comedy films from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Born in Hohenau an der March, Lower Austria, Sima attended high sc ...
as Der Minister
*
Georg Alexander
Georg Alexander (born Werner Ludwig Georg Lüddeckens; 3 April 1888 – 30 October 1945) was a German film actor who was a prolific presence in German cinema. He also directed a number of films during the silent era.
Personal life
He was married ...
as Freiherr v. Falsz-Pennwiel
*
Hans Olden
Hans Olden (1892–1975) was an Austrian stage and film actor. Olden appeared in more than eighty films during his career, mostly in Austria but occasionally also in Germany. He was a supporter of the Austrian Nazi Party, his interest in Nazism p ...
as v. Kalinski
*
Tibor Halmay as Horvath v. Arpad-Fálvâ
*
Rolf Wanka
Rolf Wanka (14 February 1901 – 28 November 1982) was an Austrian actor.
Biography
He was of Czech, German and French origin. His father was Dr. Josef Wanka was head physician in Vienna. His mother was Emma Pippich. His family owned a mans ...
as Dr. Goll
*
Karl Skraup
Karl Skraup (31 July 1898 – 2 October 1958) was an Austrian stage and film actor. From 1947 until his death in 1958 he worked at the Volkstheater in Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = ...
as Alois Hubermayer
*
Siegfried Breuer
Siegfried Breuer (24 June 1906 – 1 February 1954) was an Austrian stage and film actor and occasional film director and screenwriter.
Biography
Born in Vienna, Siegried was the son of Hans Breuer (1868 or 1870–1929), who was an opera s ...
as Dr. Kuhn
*
Fritz Imhoff
Fritz Imhoff, real name: Friedrich Arnold Heinrich Jeschke (January 6, 1891, Alsergrund February 24, 1961, Wieden) was an Austrian actor. He was a brother of the Wienerlied composer (18901962).
Selected filmography
* '' Daughter of the Regi ...
as Pollack
*
Maria Olszewska as Frau von Kalinski
*
Anny Kupfner as Wanda von Kalinski
*
Ernst Arnold
Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include:
Surname
* Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst"
* Anton Ernst (1975-) ...
as Dr. Seligmann
*
Richard Waldemar
*
Robert Valberg
Robert Valberg (28 April 1884 – 15 October 1955) was an Austrian stage and film actor.
Selected filmography
* '' The Traitress'' (1911)
* '' Ivan Koschula'' (1914)
* '' The Silent Mill'' (1914)
* '' Laugh Bajazzo'' (1915)
* '' Money in the Stree ...
as Adjutant des Ministers
*
Rudolf Carl
Rudolf Carl (19 June 189915 January 1987) was an Austrian actor who appeared in more than 150 German language films between 1934 and 1969. He also directed two films '' Der Leberfleck'' and '' Dort in der Wachau''.
Selected filmography
* '' Poli ...
as Portier im Miniserium
*
Karl Kneidinger as Bieringen, Buchhalter
*
Ernst Nadherny
*
Otto Schmöle
Otto Schmöle (1890–1968) was a German actor.
Filmography
Bibliography
* Kulik, Karol. ''Alexander Korda: The Man Who Could Work Miracles''. Virgin Books, 1990.
External links
*
1890 births
1968 deaths
German male film actors
Actors fr ...
as Nagel
*
Wilhelm Sichra
Wilhelm may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm"
* Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
Other uses
* Mount ...
as Leinenweber
*
Oskar Wegrostek Oskar may refer to:
* oskar (gene), the Drosophila gene
* Oskar (given name) Oscar or Oskar is a masculine given name of Irish origin.
Etymology
The name is derived from two elements in Irish: the first, ''os'', means "deer"; the second element, ' ...
as Wenzel, Leinenweber
*
Oskar Werner
Oskar Werner (; born Oskar Josef Bschließmayer; 13 November 1922 23 October 1984) was an Austrian stage and cinema actor whose prominent roles include two 1965 films, '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'' and ''Ship of Fools''. Other notable ...
as Hotelpage
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
1939 films
German historical drama films
Films of Nazi Germany
1930s historical drama films
1930s German-language films
Films directed by Heinz Helbig
Films set in 1909
Nazi antisemitic propaganda films
Bavaria Film films
German black-and-white films
1939 drama films
Films set in Austria-Hungary
1930s German films
{{1930s-Germany-film-stub