''The Double'' (german: Der Doppelgänger) is a 1934 German

crime comedy 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

E. W. Emo E. W. Emo (Emerich Walter Emo, born Emerich Josef Wojtek, 11 July 1898; died 2 December 1975) was an Austrian film director. Emo specialized in comedies, 21 of them with the actor Hans Moser. He also worked outside Austria and wrote screenpla ...

and starring

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 ...

Camilla Horn Camilla Martha Horn (25 April 1903 – 14 August 1996) was a German dancer and a film star of the silent and sound era. She starred in several Hollywood films of the late 1920s and in a few British and Italian productions. Biography The daught ...

, and

Gerda Maurus Gerda Maurus (25 August 1903 – 31 July 1968) was an Austrian actress. She was of Croatian descent and initially made her name on stage in Vienna. While performing in the theatre, she was discovered by the director Fritz Lang during a visit to ...

. It was the last

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

adaptation made in Germany before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. 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 ...

Wilhelm Depenau and

Erich Zander Erich Zander (11 April 1905 – 15 April 1991) was a German field hockey player who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and in the 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1928 he was a member of the German field hockey team, which won the bronze medal ...

. It was shot at the Halensee 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 ...

Plot

Mr Miller, who lives in Australia, believes his wealth manager and distant relative, Harry Salsbury, was in London. He decides to travel to Europe with his niece Jenny to confront Harry. Jenny, who just turned 18, already fell in love with the image of her cousin Harry in Australia. With a trick, she manages in Naples to send her uncle to Paris and secretly fly to London herself. There, she quickly moves in with Harry and turns his life upside down. Although he can prove that Jenny's uncle's assets are well invested in stocks and securities. But under Jenny's supervision, he has to put an end to his supposedly bad lifestyle. Jenny forces him to exercise and denies him his favorite foods. Harry is friends with the married painter Germaine de Roche. Because her rabid husband gets suspicious, he has her followed by the detective Superbus. To avoid this, Germaine persuades Harry to go to Ostend together. Harry, who under no circumstances wants to tell Jenny anything about this trip, pretends to be spending a few days in Scotland. His servant is supposed to send letters to Jenny from there. After Harry's departure, the detective Superbus appears at Jenny's. He reports on the mysterious doppelganger who commits his crimes in the guise of respected London businessmen. His accomplice has the task of luring the victims out of London in order to be able to work there undisturbed. When Jenny drives to the train station to warn Harry, he has already left. Little does Jenny know that Harry has meanwhile returned to his villa because he feared a scandal. There, to his surprise, Harry meets Germaine, who pretends to have fled from her angry husband. Jenny, who has also returned in the meantime, thinks Harry and Germaine are the crooks and locks them up without further ado. Strange things are happening in the mansion at night. After a burglary and a shootout, the true doppelganger is revealed. The misunderstandings between Mr. Miller, Jenny and Harry are resolved. And in the end, Jenny and Harry are a couple.

Cast

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1934 films Films of Nazi Germany 1930s German-language films Films directed by E. W. Emo 1930s crime comedy films German crime comedy films Films set in London Films shot at Halensee Studios German black-and-white films 1934 comedy films 1930s German films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub