''Masks'' (German: ''Masken'') is a 1929 German silent

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Rudolf Meinert Rudolf Meinert (1882–6 March 1943) was an Austrian screenwriter, film producer and film director, director. Meinert was born Rudolf Bürstein in Vienna, but worked for most of his career in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. He became ...

and starring

Karl Ludwig Diehl Karl Ludwig Diehl (14 August 1896 – 8 March 1958) was a German film actor. He appeared in 66 films between 1924 and 1957. His father was Karl Diehl, the German professor of Anarchism. Filmography * ''Die Tragödie der Entehrten'' (1924) ...

Trude Berliner Trude Berliner (28 February 1903 – 26 February 1977) was a German actress. She was one of many Jewish actors and actresses who were forced to flee Europe when the Nazis came to power in 1933. Biography Berliner was born Gertrude Berliner in Be ...

and

Marcella Albani Marcella Albani (born Ida Fidalma Angela Maranca; 7 December 1899 – 11 May 1959), was an Italian actress and writer. Although largely forgotten today, Albani was an idol of European cinema in the 1920s, and appeared in 50 films between 1919 and ...

. It was the second film made by Meinert featuring the detective hero Stuart Webbs following ''

The Green Monocle ''The Green Monocle'' (German: ''Das grüne Monokel'') is a 1929 German silent crime film directed by Rudolf Meinert and starring Ralph Clancy, Betty Bird and Suzy Vernon. The film was based on a novel by Guido Kreutzer. It features the ficti ...

'' (1929).Prawer p.88 It was shot at the

Grunewald Grunewald is the name of both a locality and a forest in Germany: * Grunewald (forest) * Grunewald (locality) Grünewald may refer to: * Grünewald (surname) * Grünewald, Germany, a municipality in Brandenburg, Germany * Grünewald (Luxembourg), ...

Studios in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. 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 ...

Hermann Warm Hermann Warm was a German art director for films. Born in 1889 (died 1976) in Berlin, Germany, Warm was an important figure in the expressionist movement of the 1920s. Warm entered the German film industry in 1912 after working on-stage for a whil ...

Cast

as Stuart Webbs *

as Mary *

as Elyane *

Charles Willy Kayser Charles Willy Kayser (28 January 1881 – 10 July 1942) was a German film actor. He was born in Metz, Lorraine, Germany (now, Moselle, France) and died at the age of 61 in 1942. Selected filmography * ''Anita Jo'' (1919) * '' The Clan'' (1920) ...

as Bankier Clifford * Hans Schickler as Jankins *

Jean Murat Jean Murat (13 July 1888, in Périgueux – 5 January 1968, in Aix-en-Provence) was a French actor. He was married to the French actress Annabella. Selected filmography * ''Sex'' (1920) * ''La Galerie des monstres'' (1924), as Sveti * '' Carme ...

as Jonny *

Betty Astor Betty Astor (21 April 1905 – 1972) was a German film actress. She was born Berta Baesel in Germany. Selected filmography * ''Upstairs and Downstairs'' (1925) * '' Should We Be Silent?'' (1926) * ''The Transformation of Dr. Bessel'' (1927) ...

as Goldelse * Borwin Walth as Kommissar Black *

Gerhard Dammann Gerhard Dammann (30 March 1883 – 21 February 1946) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * '' The Man in the Cellar'' (1914) * ''Under the Lantern'' (1928) * '' Eva in Silk'' (1928) * '' Lemke's Widow'' (1928) * ''When the Mother and ...

as Wirt Pitt *

Oskar Homolka Oskar Homolka (August 12, 1898 – January 27, 1978) was an Austrian film and theatre actor, who went on to work in Germany, Britain and America. Both his voice and his appearance fitted him for roles as communist spies or Soviet officials, for w ...

as Breitkopf * Robert Klein-Lörk as Charly

References

Bibliography

* Prawer, S.S. ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910–1933''. Berghahn Books, 2007.

External links

* 1929 films German crime films German silent feature films Films of the Weimar Republic Films directed by Rudolf Meinert Films based on German novels 1920s crime films German black-and-white films 1930s German films 1920s German films {{Germany-silent-film-stub