''Intoxication'' (German: ''Rausch'') is a 1919 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 ...

directed by

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...

and starring Asta Nielsen,

Alfred Abel Alfred Peter Abel (12 March 1879 – 12 December 1937) was a German film actor, director, and producer. He appeared in more than 140 silent and sound films between 1913 and 1938. His best-known performance was as Joh Fredersen in Fritz Lang' ...

and Karl Meinhardt. It was based on the play '' Brott och brott'' by

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

, which was later remade as the 1928 film ''

Sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

''. Lubitsch was loaned out from

UFA Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital city, capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Ufa River, Ufa rivers, in the centre-n ...

to the smaller Argus-Film for the production.Hake p.38

Plot

Gaston finally succeeds as a dramatist and decides to leave his wife and child for another woman. When the child dies, the finger is pointed at him, and he winds up as a destitute before all is revealed.

Cast

* Asta Nielsen as Henriette Mauclerc *

as Gaston, ein Schriftsteller * Karl Meinhardt as Adolph * Grete Diercks as Jeanne *

Rudolf Klein-Rhoden Rudolf Klein-Rhoden (27 January 1871 – 5 January 1936) was a German stage and film actor. Selected filmography * '' Madeleine'' (1919) * '' Sins of the Parents'' (1919) * '' Intoxication'' (1919) * '' Prostitution'' (1919) * ''Indische Nächte'' ...

as Untersuchungsrichter *

Frida Richard Frida Richard (born Friederike Raithel, 1 November 1873 – 12 September 1946) was an Austrian actress. Selected filmography * '' The Sin of Helga Arndt'' (1916) * '' The Queen's Love Letter'' (1916) * '' The Marriage of Luise Rohrbach'' (1917) ...

as Haushälterin * Marga Köhler as Henriettes Mutter *

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. Selecte ...

as Mutter Kathrin * Heinz Stieda as Der Abbé

References

Bibliography

* Eyman, Scott. ''Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise''. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. * Hake, Sabine. ''Passions and Deceptions: The Early Films of Ernst Lubitsch''. Princeton University Press, 1992.

External links

* 1919 films Films of the Weimar Republic German silent feature films 1919 drama films German drama films Films directed by Ernst Lubitsch German films based on plays German black-and-white films Films based on works by August Strindberg Silent drama films 1910s German films {{1910s-Germany-film-stub