''Violantha'' is a 1928 German-Swiss

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

Carl Froelich Carl August Hugo Froelich (5 September 1875 – 12 February 1953) was a German film pioneer and film director. He was born and died in Berlin. Biography Apparatus builder and cameraman From 1903 Froelich was a colleague of Oskar Messter, one of ...

and starring Henny Porten,

Mathilde Sussin Mathilde Sussin (21 September 1876 – 2 August 1943) was an Austrian actress. Sussin was born in Vienna into a Jewish family and died in 1943 at Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Selected filmography * '' The Black Tulip Fe ...

and

William Dieterle William Dieterle (July 15, 1893 – December 9, 1972) was a German-born actor and film director who emigrated to the United States in 1930 to leave a worsening political situation. He worked in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood primarily a ...

.Parish & Canham p.118 The film is set in Switzerland and is based on a novel by Ernst Zahn. In 1942 it was remade by

Paul May Paul May (8 May 1909 – 25 February 1976) was a German film director and editor. He directed 40 films between 1935 and 1972. Biography He was the son of Peter Ostermayr, a film producer with Universum Film AG, and his wife Olga, ''né ...

as a sound film under the slightly different title of ''

Violanta ''Violanta'', Op. 8, is a one-act opera by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The libretto is by the Austrian playwright Hans Müller-Einigen. It is Korngold's second opera, written when he was seventeen years old. Performance history It was premiered o ...

''. The film's

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

was by

Franz Schroedter Franz Schroedter (9 May 1897 – 14 November 1968) was a German art director.Giesen p.212 Selected filmography * '' The Black Count'' (1920) * '' The Dance of Love and Happiness'' (1921) * '' The New Paradise'' (1921) * '' The Queen of Whitechap ...

. It was shot at the Halensee 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 ...

and on location in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Cast

* Mathilde Sussin as Die alte Frau Renner *

as Adelrich - ihr erster Sohn *

Alexander Sascha Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

as Marianus - ihr zweiter Sohn * Henny Porten as Violantha Zureich *

Karl Platen Karl Platen (6 March 1877 – 4 July 1952) was a German actor and cinematographer known for '' Girl in the Moon'' (1929) and '' M'' (1931). Biography Karl Platen was born as Carl Platen on March 6, 1877 in Halle an der Saale, Germany. He died ...

as Jeremias Zureich / Kneipenwirt / ihr Onkel *

Elsa Wagner Elsa Wagner (24 January 1881 – 17 August 1975) was a German actress who appeared in numerous theatrical productions and feature films during the 20th century, including 1920's '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari''. Life and career Born as Elisab ...

as Seine Frau *

Gerd Fricke Gerd or GERD may refer to: * Gerd (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname * Gerd (moon), a moon of Saturn * Gerd Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica * Gastroesophageal reflux disease, a chronic symptom of mucosal damage ...

as Xaver - sein Sohn *

Wilhelm Diegelmann Wilhelm Diegelmann (28 September 1861 – 1 March 1934) was a German actor. Career Diegelmann's first stage appearance was in 1878 in the chorus for the Frankfurt Opera. In 1881 he debuted at the Frankfurt City Theater, playing King Lear, Wil ...

as Hofer, Gastwirt *

Sophie Pagay Sophie Berg Pagay (22 April 1860 – 23 January 1937) was an Austrian stage and film actress, born in Brünn, Austria-Hungary. She began acting as a child, and went to Berlin to perform on stage in 1887. She married actor Hans Pagay. Selected f ...

as seine Frau *

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 ...

as Bella - Kellnerin bei Zureich *

Inge Landgut Inge Landgut (23 November 1922 – 29 May 1986) was a German child actress. She is probably best-remembered for playing Pony Hütchen in '' Emil and the Detectives'' and as the child murder victim Elsie Beckmann in Fritz Lang's classic '' M'', b ...

as Fini *

Max Maximilian Max Maximilian (born Franz Kuhn; 23 September 1885 – 25 June 1930)Landesarchiv Berlin, Sterberegister StA Schöneweide, Nr. 196/1930 was a German singer, actor and director.Waldman p.141 Career Maximilian was born in Cologne and began his career ...

as Ein Viehhändler

References

Bibliography

* James Robert Parish & Kingsley Canham. ''Film Directors Guide: Western Europe''. Scarecrow Press, 1976.

External links

* 1928 films Films of the Weimar Republic Films directed by Carl Froelich German silent feature films Swiss silent films Films based on Swiss novels Films set in Switzerland Films shot in Switzerland Films set in the Alps UFA GmbH films German black-and-white films Films shot at Halensee Studios {{Germany-silent-film-stub