''The Women House of Brescia'' (german: Das Frauenhaus von Brescia) is a 1920 German-language

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

directed by

Hubert Moest Hubert Moest (December 3, 1877 to December 5, 1953) was a German film director, writer, producer, and actor. Early life and career Moest was the son of the sculptor Richard Moest. He attended high school in Cologne, an art school and worked as a ...

. The film's alternative name was ''The House of Pillory''. The film was considered highly controversial for the depiction of prostitution. The film's story was set in medieval Europe during the fourteenth century. The film was based on

Karl Hans Strobl Karl Hans Strobl (18 January 1877, in Jihlava – 10 March 1946, in Perchtoldsdorf) was an Austrian author and editor. Strobl is best known for his horror and fantasy writings. Strobl was a member of the Nazi Party. Life Strobl grew up in Morav ...

's novel ''Das Frauenhaus von Brescia''. The Pillory houses were the places where enemy women captured during wartime were imprisoned so that the people could exploit them as they wished. The depiction of prostitution was the basis for the picture's rejection by the

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

in 1921 and its being banned in Germany.

Plot

In 1311 the coronation of King Henry of the Lombards takes place. After becoming the king he wages war against Italy and

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

(ruled by Francesco de Barbiano). While campaigning, he sends for his queen,

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

(

Gertrude Welcker Gertrude Welcker (16 July 1896 – 1 August 1988) was a German stage and silent film actress. She appeared in 64 films between 1917 and 1925. Biography Gertrude Welcker was born in Dresden on 16 July 1896. Her father, who was editor-in-chief an ...

), who along with her ladies-in-waiting is captured and imprisoned by Barbiano. Barbiano orders the women to be sent to the House of Pillory. One of her maids, Roswitha (

Hedda Vernon Hedda Vernon (born Hedwig Klara Kemp; 27 October 1888 – 1925) was a German actress, screenwriter, and film producer. She was a prominent star of the early Weimar Republic, and had her own film production company. Early life Hedwig Klara Kemp wa ...

), impersonates the queen and asks him to leave the other women safe and capture only her. As a result, she is brought to the house of pillory where people hold a mock coronation with a crown of straw to humiliate her. She is forced into

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

. Two captured men, Gottwald (the queen's escort) and Herbolo (Roswitha's fiancé), flee from the house and inform Henry of the event. He is agitated after hearing all the information and vows to attack Brescia in vengeance. Meanwhile, in Brescia, Roswitha quickly gains popularity among the menfolk for her beauty and this makes their wives grow jealous of her. The women demand that Roswitha be handed over to them. They attack the pillory. Luigi, the local hangman, is killed during the struggle and Roswitha is led to the public stocks. Before anything happens to her, a nobleman, Alessandro, who knows her true identity and is in love with her, comes to rescue her. Henry attacks the city and Alessandro is slain by Herbolo. When the local women come to know of her true identity they ask for Roswitha's forgiveness. In the end Roswitha and Herbolo's marriage takes place and the queen along with the other captives is freed and taken to the palace.

Cast

as Queen Margaret *

Ernst Deutsch Ernst Deutsch, also known as Ernest Dorian (16 September 1890 – 22 March 1969), was a Jewish Austrian actor. In 1916, his performance as the protagonist in the world première of Walter Hasenclever's Expressionist play '' The Son'' in Dresde ...

as Luigi *

Eduard von Winterstein Eduard Clemens Franz Anna Freiherr von Wangenheim (1 August 1871 – 22 July 1961), known as Eduard von Winterstein, was an Austrian-German film actor who appeared in over one hundred fifty German films during the silent and sound eras. He was ...

as Francesco *

as Roswitha *

Olga Limburg Olga Limburg (5 April 1881 – 7 March 1970) was a German theater and film actress. She began her artistic career in 1901 with a commitment at the Municipal Theatre of Poznan. Since 1902, she played at several of Berlin's leading theaters includi ...

as Barbara *

Josef Peterhans Josef Thomas Peterhans (4 December 1882 – 3 February 1960) was a German stage and film actor. Biography Peterhans began his stage career in 1902, aged twenty. He began his film acting career with the film ' in 1916. Before acting in films he ...

* Julius Roether *

Toni Zimmerer Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name. In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni. In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwegi ...

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 ...

* Fritz Jessner * Joseph Klein * Fritz Delius *

Gerda Frey Gerda is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: A *Gerda Ahlm (1869–1956), Swedish-born American painter and art conservator * Gerda Alexander (1908–1994), Danish teacher and therapist * Gerda Antti (born 1929), Swedis ...

as Adelheid *

Blandine Ebinger Blandine Ebinger (born Blandine Loeser) (4 November 1899, in Berlin – 25 December 1993, in Berlin) was a German actress and ''chansonniere''. Career Ebinger became acquainted with Friedrich Hollaender in 1919, and with him she became heavi ...

Paul Bildt Paul Hermann Bildt (19 May 1885 – 13 March 1957) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1910 and 1956. He was born and died in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * ''Devil in Silk'' (1956) * ''Ich suche Di ...

Rejection

In 1921 the film was submitted to the

for approval. The censor was very strict regarding the depiction of prostitution in films. Many films had been denied certification on grounds of depiction of prostitution. This was the first time that the Board had to consider a film in which a woman takes to prostitution in order to save other women. The board rejected the film on 23 March 1921 and the film's distributors- Elijah Day & Sons Ltd- accepted the decision and did not attempt to challenge it. The board specified in its 1921 report that depicting the loss of

virginity Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

for any purpose would be grounds for rejection. The film was never screened in Britain though the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

bought a print of the film in 1937.

Ban in Germany

The film was first screened at Lessing Theater in Hamburg in August 1920 and in September in Berlin. On 27 July 1921 the film was banned by the Film Censor Board following a resolution. An appeal was made to the board which allowed the film's screening from 21 September 1921 only to have the Board ban it again on 5 August 1923 even though the film company had removed a large number of scenes to which the Board objected.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Women House Of Brescia, The 1920 films Films of the Weimar Republic German silent feature films German black-and-white films Films set in the Holy Roman Empire Films set in Italy Films set in the 14th century Films about prostitution in Italy Films based on Austrian novels Films based on works by Karl Hans Strobl 1920s historical films German historical films Films directed by Hubert Moest 1920s German films