''Kurfürstendamm'' is a 1920 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Richard Oswald Richard Oswald (5 November 1880 – 11 September 1963) was an Austrian film director, producer, screenwriter, and father of German-American film director Gerd Oswald. Early life and career Richard Oswald, born in Vienna as Richard W. Ornstein, ...

and starring

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt ( , ; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German and British actor. He attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man ...

Asta Nielsen Asta Sofie Amalie Nielsen (11 September 1881 – 24 May 1972) was a Danish silent film actress who was one of the most popular leading ladies of the 1910s and one of the first international movie stars. Seventy of Nielsen's 74 films were ...

Erna Morena Erna Morena (born Ernestine Maria Fuchs, 24 April 1885 – 20 July 1962) was a German film actress, film producer, and screenwriter of the silent film, silent era. She appeared in 104 films between 1913 and 1951. Biography Ernestine Maria Fuchs ...

and Henry Sze.Soister p. 103 It is set on the

Kurfürstendamm The Kurfürstendamm (; colloquially , ; ) is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former (prince-electors) of Brandenburg. The broad, long boulevard can be considered the of Berlin and is lined with s ...

in central

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. It is now considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Hans Dreier Hans Dreier (August 21, 1885 – October 24, 1966) was a German motion picture art director. He was Paramount Pictures' supervising art director from 1927 until his retirement in 1950, when he was succeeded by Hal Pereira. Hans Dreier was born ...

. Director Oswald made this film the year after he made ''Weird Tales'' (1919), which also had starred

. Cinematographer Carl Hoffmann went on to lens ''Der Januskopf'' (1920) and ''Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler'' (1922).

Plot

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

(Veidt) notices that a lot of souls entering

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

from

have been coming in from the city's Kurfurstendamm district. He goes there and rents an apartment, disguised as a businessman. A doctor named Li (Henry Sze) takes him on a guided tour of the neighborhood's dens of sin. After he is beaten and robbed on the street, the Devil flees back to Hell where he feels much safer.

Cast

as Satan *

as Girl Lissy / Mulattin / Filmstar / Koechin Maria *

as Frau von Alady * Henry Sze as Dr. Li *

Rosa Valetti Rosa Valetti (born Rosa Alice Vallentin; 25 January 1876 – 10 December 1937) was a German actress, cabaret performer, and singer. Biography Rosa Valetti was born in Berlin, the daughter of industrialist Felix Vallentin and sister of acto ...

as Frau Lesser * Paul Morgan as Fritz *

Rudolf Forster Rudolf Forster (30 October 1884 – 25 October 1968) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1914 and 1968. His autobiography ''Das Spiel, mein Leben'' was published by Propyläen Verlag in 1967. He was born in Gr ...

as Ernst Duffer *

Theodor Loos Theodor August Konrad Loos (18 May 1883 – 27 June 1954) was a German actor. The son of a watchmaker and instruments manufacturer, he left secondary school prematurely and worked for three years at an export firm for music instruments in Leipz ...

as Raoul Hasenzwing

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1920 films 1920 drama films 1920 lost films 1920s German films 1920s German-language films Films directed by Richard Oswald Films of the Weimar Republic Films scored by Hans May Films set in Berlin German black-and-white films German silent feature films Lost drama films Lost horror films Lost German films Silent German drama films Silent German horror films The Devil in film {{1920s-Germany-silent-drama-film-stub