''The Burning Secret'' (german: Brennendes Geheimnis) is a 1933 Austrian-German

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-g ...

directed by

Robert Siodmak Robert Siodmak (; 8 August 1900 – 10 March 1973) was a German film director who also worked in the United States. He is best remembered as a thriller specialist and for a series of films noirs he made in the 1940s, such as ''The Killers'' (19 ...

and starring

Alfred Abel Alfred Peter Abel (12 March 1879 – 12 December 1937) was a German film actor, director, and producer. He appeared in more than 140 silent and sound films between 1913 and 1938. His best-known performance was as Joh Fredersen in Fritz Lang' ...

Hilde Wagener Hilde Wagener (26 September 1904 – 26 December 1992) was a German-born actress who settled in Austria. Primarily a stage actress, she also appeared in several films, such as ''The Burning Secret'' (1933), generally in supporting roles.Goble p.519 ...

and

Hans Joachim Schaufuß Hans Joachim Schaufuß (transliterated: Schaufuss) (28 December 1918 – 27 October 1941) was a German actor. Schaufuß began as a child actor, appearing in '' Emil and the Detectives'' (1931) and '' The White Demon'' (1932). From the mid-1930s he ...

. It was based on the novella of the same title by Stefan Zweig. It was released by the German branch of

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. It was shot at the EFA 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 ...

with sets 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 ...

. Because of its theme of

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

, the film was attacked by

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

, the Nazi Propaganda Minister.Reimer & Reimer p. 275 The film was remade in 1988.

Cast

as Der Mann *

as Die Frau *

as Edgar *

Lucie Höflich Lucie Höflich (born Helene Lucie von Holwede; 20 February 1883 – 9 October 1956) was a German actress, teacher and head of the Staatliche Schauspielschule (State Drama School) in Berlin.

as Mutter der Frau *

Willi Forst Willi Forst, born Wilhelm Anton Frohs (7 April 1903 – 11 August 1980) was an Austrian actor, screenwriter, film director, film producer and singer. As a debonair actor he was a darling of the German-speaking film audiences, as a director, one ...

as Herr von Haller, Rennfahrer *

Ernst Dumcke Ernst Dumcke (13 November 1887 – 21 June 1940) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * '' Panik in Chicago'' (1931) * '' Madame Makes Her Exit'' (1932) * '' Under False Flag'' (1932) * '' My Friend the Millionaire'' (1932) * '' Grandsta ...

as Baron Tosse *

Alfred Beierle Alfred Beierle (4 June 1885 – 16 March 1950) was a German stage and film actor.Alpi p.346 Selected filmography * '' The League of Three'' (1929) * ''The Flute Concert of Sanssouci'' (1930) * '' The Tiger Murder Case'' (1930) * '' Oh Those Glori ...

as Müller, Hoteldetektiv * Hans Richter as Fritz, Page *

Rina Marsa Rina Marsa (1904–?) was a Russian-born actress. She appeared in a number of German and Austrian films during the late 1920s and early 1930s in a mixture of lead and supporting roles. She was briefly married to Emilio Genís Varela, a Spanish Ban ...

as Fräulein de la Roche * Heinz Berghaus as Hotelportier *

Lotte Stein Lotte Stein (1894–1982) was a German actress of the stage and screen. Of Jewish descent, she fled to the United States via Czechoslovakia and Portugal, and arrived at the Port of New York on board the S/S ''Mouzinho'' in June 1941. Selected fi ...

as Frau Klappholz

References

Bibliography

* Alpi, Deborah Lazaroff. ''Robert Siodmak: A Biography, with Critical Analyses of His Films Noirs and a Filmography of All His Works''. McFarland, 1998. * Hake, Sabine. ''Popular Cinema of the Third Reich''. University of Texas Press, 2001. * Klaus, Ulrich J. ''Deutsche Tonfilme: Jahrgang 1933''. Klaus-Archiv, 1988. * Reimer, Robert C. & Reimer, Carol J. ''The A to Z of German Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2010.

External links

* 1933 films 1933 drama films Austrian drama films German drama films Films of the Weimar Republic 1930s German-language films Films directed by Robert Siodmak Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Stefan Zweig Remakes of German films Sound film remakes of silent films Films set in hotels Adultery in films Universal Pictures films German black-and-white films Austrian black-and-white films 1930s German films Films shot at Halensee Studios {{1930s-Germany-film-stub