''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

as Präsident Kettner *

as Lilly, seine Tochter *

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