''The Virtuous Sinner'' (German: ''Der brave Sünder'') is a 1931

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Fritz Kortner Fritz Kortner (born Fritz Nathan Kohn; 12 May 1892 – 22 July 1970) was an Austrian stage and film actor and theatre director. Life and career Kortner was born in Vienna as Fritz Nathan Kohn into a Jewish family. He studied at the Vienna A ...

and starring

Max Pallenberg Max Pallenberg (born 18 December 1877 in Vienna as ''Max Pollack'' – 26 June 1934 in Karlovy Vary) was an Austrian singer, actor and comedian. Although Pallenberg's career started in 1904 it wasn't until 1909 that he joined Theater an der Wien ...

Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...

and

Dolly Haas Dolly may refer to: Tools *Dolly (tool), a portable anvil * A posser, also known as a dolly, used for laundering * A variety of wheeled tools, including: **Dolly (trailer), for towing behind a vehicle **Boat dolly or launching dolly, a device fo ...

Production

The film was made at the

Babelsberg Studio Babelsberg Film Studio (german: Filmstudio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the second oldest large-scale film studio in the world only preceded by the Danish Nordisk Film (est. 1906), producing films since ...

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 ...

, although its setting and many of its principal participants were Austrian. It is based on the play ''

The Embezzlers ''The Embezzlers'' (russian: Растратчики, translit=Rastratchiki) is a 1926 satirical novel by Valentin Katayev first published in the October-December (Nos. 10, 11, 12) issues of ''Krasnaya Nov'' magazine. The play of the same name, bas ...

'' which was in turn based on a novel by the Soviet writer

Valentin Kataev Valentin Petrovich Kataev (russian: Валенти́н Петро́вич Ката́ев; also spelled Katayev or Kataiev; – 12 April 1986) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright who managed to create penetrating works discussing ...

. Max Pallenberg was a successful stage comedian, but had previously rejected all offers to appear in films based on his theatre appearances. He was finally convinced by the producer

Arnold Pressburger Arnold Pressburger (27 August 1885 – 17 February 1951) was an Austrian Jewish film producer who produced more than 70 films between 1913 and 1951. Pressburger was born in Pressburg, Austria-Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia) and died in Ha ...

to try and film one of his stage successes. The film also offered Kortner a chance to fulfill his ambitions to become a director.Prawer p.131 The film's

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 ...

was

Julius von Borsody Julius von Borsody (8 April 1892 in Vienna – 18 January 1960, also in Vienna) was an Austrian film architect and one of the most employed set designers in the Austrian and German cinemas of the late silent and early sound film periods. His youn ...

Synopsis

Pichler and Wittek, two junior employees of a bank from a provincial

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n town, travel to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where they become accidentally embroiled in their director's scheme to embezzle the bank's funds and flee with his mistress. They become desperate as they fear their disgrace. But events ultimately sort themselves out, the dishonest director is arrested, and Pichler is appointed to replace him while Wittek is able to marry Pichler's daughter Hedwig.

Cast

as Leopold Pichler *

as Wittek *

as Hedwig, Pichler's daughter *

Josefine Dora Josefine Dora (born Isidora Emilie Friese; 13 November 1867 – 28 May 1944) was an Austrian stage and film actress. She appeared in over 100 films, generally in supporting roles such as in ''The Virtuous Sinner'' (1931).Prawer p.137 Selected f ...

as Ludmilla Pichler *

Fritz Grünbaum Franz Friedrich 'Fritz' Grünbaum (7 April 1880 in Brünn (Brno), Moravia – 14 January 1941 at the Dachau concentration camp, Germany) was an Austrian Jewish cabaret artist, operetta and popular song writer, actor, and master of ceremonies ...

as Kalapka *

Peter Wolff Peter Wolff (born 10 May 1946) is a politician and attorney from Liechtenstein. He was the Speaker of the Landtag of Liechtenstein (the national Parliament) from January 1997 to December 2000. Wolff belongs to the Patriotic Union and represente ...

as Karl, Pichler's son *

Julius Brandt Julius Brandt (5 March 1873, in Olmütz – 26 December 1949, in Vienna) was an Austrian stage and film actor, film director and screenwriter. Selected filmography * '' The Gentleman Without a Residence'' (1915) * ''Pogrom'' (1919) * ''The Priso ...

as Geschäftsführer *

Louis Ralph Louis Ralph (born Ludwig Josef Musik; 17 August 1878 – September 1952) was an Austrian film actor and director. He was born Ludwig Musik in Graz, Styria, Austria-Hungary (now Austria), and died in Berlin at age 68. Selected filmography * ''D ...

as Krull *

Ekkehard Arendt Ekkehard Arendt (10 June 1892 – 10 May 1954) was an Austrian stage and film actor. Arendt served in the Austrian Army during the First World War, before moving to Germany to work in the theatre and film industry. He played the role of Handel Van ...

as Direktor Härtl *

Rose Poindexter A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...

as Kiddy, dancer

References

Bibliography

* Prawer, S.S. ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933''. Berghahn Books, 2005.

External links

* 1931 films Films of the Weimar Republic 1931 comedy films German comedy films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Fritz Kortner Films set in Vienna German films based on plays Films based on Russian novels Films based on adaptations Films produced by Arnold Pressburger German black-and-white films Bavaria Film films Cine-Allianz films Films shot at Babelsberg Studios 1930s German films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub