''The Ancient Law'' (german: Das alte Gesetz) is a 1923 German silent

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

E. A. Dupont Ewald André Dupont (25 December 1891 – 12 December 1956) was a German film director, one of the pioneers of the German film industry. He was often credited as E. A. Dupont. Early career A newspaper columnist in 1916, Dupont became a screenwri ...

and starring Henny Porten,

Ruth Weyher Ruth Weyher (28 May 1901 – 27 January 1983) was a German film actress of the silent era. She appeared in 60 films between 1920 and 1930. She starred in the 1926 film ''Secrets of a Soul'', which was directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. Selected ...

and

Hermann Vallentin Hermann Vallentin (24 May 1872 – 18 September 1945) was a German actor. Biography Hermann Vallentin was born in Berlin in 1872. He was the son of a Jewish timber merchant and factory owner, Felix Vallentin. He was the older brother of actress ...

. The son of an Orthodox Rabbi faces hostility from his father when he decides to become an actor.

Cast

* Henny Porten as Archduchess Elisabeth Theresia *

as court lady *

as Heinrich Laube *Avrom Morewski (Abraham Morewski) as Rabbi Mayer *

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 Baruch, his son *

Grete Berger Grete Berger (born Margarethe Berg; 11 February 1883 – 23 May 1944) was an Austrian-German stage and film actress whose career came to an end following the rise of the Nazi Party in 1933. Berger was murdered at Auschwitz concentration camp in ...

as his mother * Robert Garrison as Ruben Pick *

Margarete Schlegel Margarethe Sylva Elisabeth Wisniewski (né Schlegel, 31 December 1899 – 15 July 1987), known professionally as Margarete Schlegel, was a German theatre and film actress and soprano operetta singer. Early life The sixth of seven children and the ...

as Esther, his daughter *

Jakob Tiedtke Jakob Karl Heinrich Wilhelm Tiedtke (23 June 1875 – 30 June 1960) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1914 and 1955. Selected filmography * ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1918 film), The Pied Piper of Hamel ...

as Director of the Actors *

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 his wife *

Alice Hechy Alice Hechy (born Alice Scheel; 21 July 1893 – 26 May 1973) was a German stage and film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the ...

as second daughter *

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 an old comedian *

Fritz Richard Fritz Richard (born Josef Richard Löwit; 17 November 1869 – 9 February 1933) was an Austrian actor and theatre director. Fritz Richard was born as Josef Richard Löwit in Chotěboř, Austria-Hungary into a Jewish family. Richard trained as ...

as Nathan the professor *

Wolfgang Zilzer Wolfgang Zilzer (January 20, 1901 – June 26, 1991) was a German-American stage and film actor, often under the stage name Paul Andor. Biography Zilzer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to German-Jewish emigrant Max Zilzer, who was employed at the ...

as page *Kálmán Zátony as Joseph Wagner *

Robert Scholz Robert Scholz (23 April 1886 – 10 October 1927) was a German film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 76 films between 1919 and 1928. He was born in Germany and died in Berlin. Selected filmography * ''A Drive into the Blue'' (1919) ...

*Alfred Krafft-Lortzing *Dominik Löscher *

Philipp Manning Philipp Manning (23 November 1869 – 9 April 1951) was a British-born German actor. He was born in Lewisham to a British father and a German mother. He was sent to Germany for his education and settled there. He often played British characters i ...

References

External links

* German drama films German silent feature films Films directed by E. A. Dupont Films of the Weimar Republic 1923 drama films German black-and-white films Silent drama films 1920s German films {{Germany-silent-film-stub