''Variety'' (german: Varieté , also known by the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the t ...

s ''Jealousy'' or ''Vaudeville'') is a 1925 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 Ewald Andre Dupont based on the 1912 novel '' The Oath of Stephan Huller'' by

Felix Hollaender Felix Hollaender (1 November 1867 – 29 May 1931) was a German writer, critic, dramaturge and theatre director. At one point he worked as a stage producer with his friend Max Reinhardt. Life Felix Hollaender was born in Leobschütz (as Głubc ...

. The trapeze scenes are set in the

Berlin Wintergarten theatre The Berlin Wintergarten theatre was a large variety theatre in Berlin-Mitte. It opened in 1887 and was destroyed by bombs during the Second World War. The Skladanowsky brothers showcased the first short film presentation at the theatre in 189 ...

. The camera swings from long shot to close-up, like the acrobats. The story was loosely remade by Dupont as the 1931 German sound film '' Salto Mortale''.

Plot

In the film, Jannings portrays "Boss Huller", a former trapeze artist who was badly injured in a fall from the high wire and who now runs a seedy carnival with his wife (Maly Delschaft) and their child. Huller insists that the family take in a beautiful stranger ( Lya De Putti) as a new sideshow dancer, with whom he develops a new

trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...

number. He falls in love with the new star, and the story ends in tragedy.

Cast

Emil Jannings Emil Jannings (born Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz, 23 July 1884 – 2 January 1950) was a Swiss born German actor, popular in the 1920s in Hollywood. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' The La ...

as Boss Huller * Maly Delschaft as wife of Boss * Lya De Putti as Bertha *

Warwick Ward Warwick Ward (3 December 1891 – 9 December 1967) was an English actor of the stage and screen, and a film producer. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1919 and 1933. He also produced 19 films between 1931 and 1958. He was born in ...

as Artinelli *

Georg John Georg John (born Georg Jacobsohn; 23 July 1879 – 18 November 1941) was a German stage and film actor. Early life Georg Jacobsohn was born into a Jewish household in Schmiegel, Province of Posen, Imperial Germany. Career John began his ...

Release

The film was heavily censored when it was released in the United States (except for New York) by excising the entire first reel, "thus destroying the motivation of the tragedy, implying that the acrobat was married to his Eurasian temptress."

Influence

The film is noted for its innovative camerawork with highly expressive movement through space, accomplished by the expressionist cinematographer Karl Freund. Decades later, the German director

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Florian Maria Georg Christian Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (; born 2 May 1973) is an Academy Award-winning German and Austrian film director. He is best known for writing and directing the 2006 dramatic thriller ''Das Leben der Anderen (The L ...

cites being unexpectedly exposed to the film as a child of four as the start of his interest in the medium.Rohter, Larry
"German Director Plunges Beyond His Comfort Zone"
''The New York Times'', 8 December 2010 (9 December 2010 p. C1 NY ed.). Retrieved 8 December 2010. This film is believed to contain the first documentation of unicycle hockey – it features a short sequence showing two people playing the game.

References

External links