''The Singing City'' (German: ''Die singende Stadt'') is a 1930 German

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Carmine Gallone Carmine Gallone (10 September 1885 – 11 March 1973) was an early Italian film director, screenwriter, and film producer, who was also controversial for his works of pro-Fascist propaganda and historical revisionism. Considered one of Itali ...

and starring

Jan Kiepura Jan Wiktor Kiepura (May 16, 1902 – August 15, 1966) was a Polish singer (tenor) and actor. Life and career Jan Kiepura was born in Sosnowiec, Poland, the son of Miriam (née Neuman), a former professional singer, and Franciszek Kiepura, a b ...

Brigitte Helm Brigitte Helm (born Brigitte Gisela Eva Schittenhelm, 17 March 1906 – 11 June 1996) was a German actress, best remembered for her dual role as Maria and her double named Futura, in Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film, '' Metropolis''. Early life ...

and

Walter Janssen Walter Janssen (7 February 1887 – 1 January 1976) was a German film actor and director. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1917 and 1970. Selected filmography * '' The Dancer'' (1919) * ''Destiny'' (1921) * ''Wandering Souls'' (1 ...

. 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 ...

Oscar Werndorff Oscar Friedrich Werndorff (1880–1938) was an Austrian art director. After leaving Germany in the early 1930s he moved to Britain where he worked in the British film industry. He co-directed the 1931 film '' The Bells''.Bergfelder & Cargnel ...

. An English-language version of the film, ''

City of Song ''City of Song'', also known as ''Farewell to Love'', is a 1931 British/German romance film directed by Carmine Gallone and starring Jan Kiepura, Betty Stockfeld and Hugh Wakefield. It was shot at Wembley Studios.Wood p.69 The film's sets were ...

'', also directed by Gallone and starring Kiepura along with a British cast, was released in 1931.Bock & Bergfelder p.243

Synopsis

While holidaying in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, a wealthy young Austrian woman discovers the singing talents of her

tour guide A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, religio ...

. He falls in love with her, but once she has taken him 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 ...

to launch his career he becomes disillusioned with her lifestyle and circles of friends and returns home to Italy and his original girlfriend.

Cast

as Giovanni Cavallone - Fremdenführer *

as Claire Landshoff - junge Witwe *

as Professor Andreas Breuling *

Trude Berliner Trude Berliner (28 February 1903 – 26 February 1977) was a German actress. She was one of many Jewish actors and actresses who were forced to flee Europe when the Nazis came to power in 1933. Biography Berliner was born Gertrude Berliner in Be ...

as Carmela - neapolitanisches Mädchen *

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 ...

as Rudi Feldegger * Franz Maldacea as Tupf - Carmelas Bruder * Käte Bill as Susanne - Claires Zofe *

Henry Bender Henry Bender (born Harry Bandheimer; 1867–1933) was a German stage and film actor.Chandler p. 272 He appeared in more than a hundred films during his career. Selected filmography * ''The Devil'' (1918) * '' Madeleine'' (1919) * ''Whitechapel'' ...

as Herr Maier aus Berlin *

Hermann Blaß Hermann Blaß (transliterated as Hermann Blass; 1888–1941) was an Austrian film actor and singer.Eisner p.351 The Jewish Blaß was forced to leave Germany following the rise of the Nazi Party to power in 1933. He then left Austria following it ...

as Der Empfangschef *

Teddy Bill Teddy Bill (18 November 1900 – 11 February 1949) was an Austrian actor. Later in his career he was also credited as Teddy Kern. Selected filmography * ''Princess Trulala'' (1926) - Lackei * ''Vienna - Berlin'' (1926) - Ein Heurigenfänger * ...

as Heini Ladenburg / Claires Verehrer *

Carl Goetz Carl Goetz (10 April 1862 – 15 August 1932) was an Austrian stage and film actor. He appeared in around seventy films during the silent and early sound eras. Goetz was of a Jewish background.Prawer p.213 He is particularly noted for his role in ...

as Der Nachtportier *

Martin Kosleck Martin Kosleck (born Nicolaie Yoshkin, March 24, 1904 – January 15, 1994) was a German film actor. Like many other German actors, he fled when the Nazis came to power. Inspired by his deep hatred of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, Kosleck made ...

as Bobby Bertling - Claires Verehrer * Carol Ress as Marthe - Claires Zofe * Charlie Roellinghoff as Poldi Falkner - Claires Verehrer * Ernõ Szenes as Siegmund Königsberger - ein Konzertagent * C.H. Todd as Mr. Parkins aus London *

Hans Heinrich von Twardowski Hans Heinrich von Twardowski (5 May 1898 – 19 November 1958) was a German film actor. Career in Germany Twardowski was born in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin in Poland). He made his first film appearance in the 1920 Robert Wiene-directed horr ...

as Willi von Wellheim - Claires Verehrer

References

Bibliography

* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

* 1930 films 1930 musical films Films of the Weimar Republic German musical films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Carmine Gallone Films set in Naples Films shot in Naples Films set in Vienna German multilingual films German black-and-white films Films with screenplays by Hans Székely Films scored by Paul Abraham Cine-Allianz films UFA GmbH films 1930 multilingual films 1930s German films {{musical-film-stub