''Gold'' is a 1934 German science fiction film directed by Karl Hartl. The film involves a British scientist who is attempting to create a device that turns base materials into gold. He later forces the German scientist's assistant Werner Holk ( Hans Albers), who was working on a similar experiment, to come to his underwater nuclear reactor to help him. ''Gold'' was made in both German-language and French-language versions with

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 ...

reprising her role in both.

Plot

A German scientist has discovered a theoretical means of transforming lead into gold. Working with his engineer Werner Holk ( Hans Albers), he is literally moments from proving his theory when the lab is blown up by a saboteur. Holk is then hired by the British capitalist who ordered the sabotage and goes to Scotland to see his friend's work recreated on a massive scale in a secret laboratory beneath the North Sea. Swearing revenge, he agrees to help the millionaire and even fraudulently "creates" a bit of gold to fortify the illusion that the machine works. Gaining the confidence of the millionaire's somewhat wayward daughter Florence (

) as well as the workers, Holk puts together a plan to destroy the machine before the artificial gold it would create can wreak havoc on the world economy. The first day of the machine's operation, Holk manages to turn the workers against the millionaire (thus ensuring they'll all get away safely), then only barely escapes himself before the lab is blown up in a spectacular sequence of explosions and strobe lighting.

Production

Director Karl Hartl developed ''Gold'' after the international success of his previous science fiction film ''Der Tunnel''.Hull, 1969. p.56 ''Gold'' was the studio

Universum Film AG UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA (), is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. Its name derives from Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (normally abbreviated as ...

's superproduction of that time and reportedly took 14 months to shoot.Hull, 1969. p.57 Actor Hans Albers sued the production asking for nearly double his salary but lost the case. During this production time, a French-language version of the film was also made which kept

as the lead actress but changed many of the supporting characters roles. ''L'Or'' was the French-language version of the film that was shot simultaneously with it. Serge de Poligny directed the scenes in French with the script adapted to French by Jacques Thierry.

Cast

German-language version * Hans Albers as Werner Holk *

as Florence Wills * Michael Bohnen as John Wills * Lien Deyers as Margit Möller * Friedrich Kayßler as Prof. Achenbach * Ernst Karchow as Lüders * Eberhard Leithoff as Harris * Willi Schur as Pitt * Hans-Joachim Büttner as Becker *

Walter Steinbeck Walter Steinbeck (26 September 1878 – 27 August 1942) was a German film actor. Steinbeck was born in Niederlößnitz (now Radebeul), Saxony, Germany. He died at age 63 in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * ''The Romance of a Poor S ...

as Brann * Heinz Wemper as Vesitsch * Rudolf Platte as Schwarz * Heinz Salfner as Direktor Sommer * Erich Haußmann as Sekretär French-language version *

as Florence Wills * Pierre Blanchar as François Berthier *

Roger Karl Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

as John Wills * Rosine Deréan as Hélène *

Louis Gauthier Louis Gauthier (12 April 1916 – 6 August 2005) was a French racing cyclist. He rode in the 1947 Tour de France The 1947 Tour de France was the 34th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 25 June to 20 July. The total race dist ...

as Lefèvre * Jacques Dumesnil as Malescot *

Marc Valbel Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

as Harris * Robert Goupil as Le journaliste *

Pierre Piérade Pierre Piérade (died 1937) was a Belgian stage and film actor.Hardt p.242 Selected filmography * '' Little Lise'' (1930) * ''American Love'' (1931) * '' The Indictment'' (1931) * '' To the Polls, Citizens'' (1932) * ''Here's Berlin'' (1932) * ' ...

as un domestique *

Raoul Marco Raoul Marco (22 November 1892 – 3 April 1971) was a French film actor.Phillips p.215 Partial filmography * ''Bric à Brac et compagnie'' (1931) - Monsieur Verly * ''Le gendre de Monsieur Poirier'' (1933) - Le premier créancier * '' The Red Ro ...

as O'Kelly

Release

''Gold'' premiered in Berlin at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo theater on 29 March 1934. The French-language version was shown on 1 June 1934. When the film was reviewed by the Allied Censorship boards after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the viewers pondered whether German scientists had been able to build a nuclear reactor long before it was originally thought they did. Parts of the stock footage scenes in ''Gold'' were later used again in the 1953 American film '' The Magnetic Monster''.

Reception

In 1934, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave the film a positive review stating "So well is this mixture of pseudo science, love and near-love photographed that persons ignorant of German need have no fear of inability to follow the action of "Gold" and "the audience is kept interested in the steps leading up to the dénouement, despite the inordinate length of the film." ''

Wonder Stories ''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Stor ...

'' praised ''Gold'' as "a masterful scientifilm fantasy"."Movie Review", ''Wonder Stories'', February 1935, p.1147 '' Film Daily'' declared the film to be an "Entertaining drama ..has good cast and is essentially interesting form the technical angle." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reviewed the French-language ''L'Or'' stating that the film "depends for is effect on sensational machinery - a Frankenstein electric machine to make synthetic gold - and such makes a certain impression.... Aside from that, pic is commonplace."

Notes

Sources

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External links

*
''Gold''
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Gold (1934 Film) 1934 films 1934 multilingual films 1930s science fiction films Films of Nazi Germany 1930s German-language films German science fiction films German black-and-white films Films directed by Karl Hartl German multilingual films Films set in Berlin UFA GmbH films 1930s German films