''The Case of Colonel Redl'' (German: ''Der Fall des Generalstabs-Oberst Redl'') is a 1931 German

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

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

Karl Anton Karl Anton or Karel Anton (25 October 1898 12 April 1979) was a Bohemian-born German film director, screenwriter and film producer. Biography He was born in Prague on 25 October 1898. His father Wilhelm Anton (1861–1918) was a physician. An ...

and starring

Theodor Loos Theodor August Konrad Loos (18 May 1883 – 27 June 1954) was a German actor. The son of a watchmaker and instruments manufacturer, he left secondary school prematurely and worked for three years at an export firm for music instruments in L ...

, Lil Dagover and Otto Hartmann. It was co-production between the

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

-based company Elektafilm and Sonor Film. A separate Czech-language film ''

The Affair of Colonel Redl ''The Affair of Colonel Redl'' ( cs, Aféra plukovníka Redla) is a Czech comedy film directed by Karel Anton. German version of the movie '' The Case of Colonel Redl'' was released in 1931. The film is considered lost. Cast *Emil Artur Longe ...

'' was also produced.Von Dassanowsky p.337 It was based on a 1924 novel of the same title by

Egon Kisch Egon Erwin Kisch (29 April 1885 – 31 March 1948) was an Austrian and Czechoslovak writer and journalist, who wrote in German. He styled himself ''Der Rasende Reporter'' (The Raging Reporter) for his countless travels to the far corners of the ...

, based on the story of Alfred Redl.

Synopsis

In the years leading up to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Colonel Redl of the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

army acts as a

double agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organ ...

for enemy powers.

Cast

as Oberst Alfred Redl * Lil Dagover as Vera Nikolayevna * Otto Hartmann as Stephan Dolan, Ulanenleutnant * Friedrich Hölzlin as Marchenko *

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 Daragaieff, russischer Spion * Werner Jansch as Der Chef des russischen Spionageddienstes in Petersburg *

Michael von Newlinsky Michael von Newlinsky (21 June 1891 – 14 August 1964) was an Austrian film actor who appeared in numerous supporting roles during his career, in films such as Georg Wilhelm Pabst's ''Pandora's Box'' (1929).Roberts p.82 Selected filmography * ...

as Der russische Botschafter in Wien *

Willy Bauer Willy Bauer is a German former professional motocross racer. He was one of the top racers in the Motocross World Championships of the early 1970s. In 1973, as a member of the Maico factory racing team, he battled the reigning world champion, ...

as General Conrad von Hoetzendorf, Chef des Generalstabs der Österrichischen Armee *

Magnus Stifter Magnus Stifter (23 January 1878 – 8 September 1943) was an Austrian stage and film actor. He appeared in 85 films between 1914 and 1941. He was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria), and died in Vienna, Austria. Selected filmograp ...

as Oberst Umanizky, Chef des Evidenzbüros in Wien * Hans Götz as Ein Erzherzog * Dr. Weinmann as Der Korpskommandant von Prag *

Philipp Veit Philipp Veit (13 February 179318 December 1877) was a German Romantic painter and one of the main exponents of the Nazarene movement. It is to Veit that the credit of having been the first to revive the nearly forgotten technique of fresco ...

as Der Polizeipräsident von Wien * Leo Dudek as Erster Detektiv * Rudolf Stadler as Zweiter Detektiv *

Truda Grosslichtová Truda Grosslichtová (23 February 1912 – 8 June 1995) was a Czechoslovak film actress. Life Truda Grosslichtová was born Gertruda Marie Grosslichtová in Prague. She spoke Czech, German, French, English and Italian. She acted in amateur ...

as Franzi * Luigi Bernauer as Ein Stimmungssänger im Wiener 'Trocadero'

References

Bibliography

* Von Dassanowsky, Robert. ''Screening Transcendence: Film Under Austrofascism and the Hollywood Hope, 1933-1938''. Indiana University Press, 2018

External links

* 1931 films Films of the Weimar Republic German drama films 1931 drama films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Karl Anton German black-and-white films 1930s German films Films set in Vienna Films set in the 1910s 1920s spy films German spy films Films based on Czech novels {{1930s-Germany-film-stub