''Shadows of the Underworld'' (German: ''Schatten der Unterwelt'') is a 1931 German

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

directed by and starring

Harry Piel Heinrich Piel (12 July 1892 – 27 March 1963), known professionally as Harry Piel, was a prolific German actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer who was involved in over 150 films. Piel became a director in 1912, turning out such ...

. It also features

Dary Holm Dary Holm (born Anna Maria Dorothea Meyer; 16 April 1897 – 29 August 1960) was a German actress. She married film star Harry Piel in 1927. Holm starred alongside Piel in several films, such as ''Johnny Steals Europe'' (1932).Grange p.389 Select ...

Elisabeth Pinajeff Elisabeth Pinajeff (born Elizabeta Sergeyevna Pinayeva; russian: Елизавета Сергеевна Пинаева, 17 April 1900 – 31 December 1995) was a Russian-German actress.Prawer p.87 Selected filmography * ''Count Cohn'' (1923) * '' ...

and

Hans Junkermann Hennes "Hans" Junkermann (6 May 1934 – 11 April 2022) was a German professional racing cyclist who won 35 road races in 18 seasons from 1956 to 1973. He won the German National Road Race in 1959, 1960, and 1961. Biography Junkermann was bor ...

.Bock & Bergfelder p.363 It was made at the

Terra Studios The Terra Studios or Marienfelde Studios were film studios located in the Berlin suburb of Marienfelde. The studios were originally a glasshouse constructed in 1913 by the early company Eiko Film, controlled by the producer Franz Vogel who ha ...

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 ...

while

location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

took place in St. Moritz in Switzerland. The film's sets were designed by the art director

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

Emil Hasler Emil Hasler (November 8, 1901 – January 15, 1986) was a German art director who worked on more than a hundred films during his career. These included a number of Weimar classics such as ''Diary of a Lost Girl, M'' and ''The Blue Angel''.Prawe ...

. A separate French-language version was also released.

Synopsis

After his invention is stolen and his business partner kidnapped, Harry West pursues the perpetrators while trying to avoid the police on his own trail.

Cast

as Harry West *

as Irene von Sheridan *

as Yvette Finetti *

as Amadeus Keller * Hans Behal as S Berry *

Carl Balhaus Carl Balhaus (born Carl Ballhaus; 4 November 1905 – 28 July 1968) was a German stage and film actor. After the Second World War he worked as screenwriter and director for the East German state-owned studio DEFA. He was an uncle of the Academ ...

as Jonny *

Aruth Wartan Aruth Wartan (or ''Haruth Vartan'', hy, Հարութ Վարդան, 23 June 1880 – 14 April 1945) was a German film actor of Armenian origin who appeared in around ninety films during his career, generally in supporting roles. Life and career B ...

as Apolloni *

Leopold von Ledebur Leopold von Ledebur (18 May 1876 – 22 August 1955) was a German stage and film actor. Selected filmography * ''Carmen'' (1918) * ''The Serenyi'' (1918) * ''Midnight'' (1918) * ''The Foolish Heart'' (1919) * '' The Golden Lie'' (1919) * '' T ...

as Kommissär Braun *

Carl Goetz Carl Goetz (10 April 1862 – 15 August 1932) was an Austrian stage and film actor. He appeared in around seventy films during the silent and early sound eras. Goetz was of a Jewish background.Prawer p.213 He is particularly noted for his role in ...

as Jonnys Vater *

Eugen Rex Eugen is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Archduke Eugen of Austria (1863–1954), last Habsburg Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order from 1894 to 1923 * Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke (1865–1947), Swedish painter, art collector, and pat ...

as Kommissar Stückli * Charly Berger *

Olga Engl Olga Engl (30 May 1871 – 21 September 1946) was an Austrian-German stage and motion picture actress who appeared in nearly 200 films. Biography Engl was privately educated in an Ursuline monastery and began her acting career at the Prague C ...

Maria Forescu Maria Forescu (15 January 1875 28 October 1947) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian opera singer and film actress. During the silent and talkies era of the German cinema, she appeared in several movies as a supporting actress. When Adolf Hitl ...

Wolfgang von Schwindt Wolfgang von Schwind also spelled Wolfgang von Schwindt (4 July 1879 – 19 April 1949) was an Austrian actor and opera singer. He appeared in more than eighty films from 1920 to 1947. He was the grandson of Austrian painter Moritz von Schwind ...

References

Bibliography

* Hans-Michael Bock and Tim Bergfelder. ''The Concise Cinegraph: An Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books.

External links

* 1931 films 1930s action films German action comedy films Films of the Weimar Republic 1930s German-language films Films directed by Harry Piel Terra Film films Films set in Switzerland German multilingual films German black comedy films 1931 multilingual films 1930s German films Films shot in Switzerland Films shot at Terra Studios {{1930s-Germany-film-stub