''Variety'' ( , 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 ...

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

directed by Ewald Andre Dupont based on the 1912 novel '' The Oath of Stephan Huller'' by Felix Hollaender. 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 Bas-Lag is a fictional universe in which several of China Miéville's novels are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic (referred to as thaumaturgy) and steampunk technology exist, and where many intelligent races live. This world and the nove ...

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 Lya de Putti (born Amália Helena Mária Róza Putti; , 10 January 1896 – 27 November 1931) was a Hungarian film actress during the silent film, silent era. She was noted for her portrayals of vamp (woman), vamp characters. Early life and care ...

) as a new sideshow dancer, with whom he develops a new

trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes, metal straps, or chains, 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 ...

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 who was popular in Hollywood films in the 1920s. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for starring in '' ...

as Boss Huller *

Maly Delschaft Martha Amalia "Maly" Delschaft (4 December 1898 – 20 August 1995) was a German stage and film actress. After beginning in theatre, Delschaft switched to silent films. She appeared in mainly supporting roles during the Weimar and Nazi eras. Afte ...

as wife of Boss *

as Bertha * Warwick Ward as Artinelli * Georg John

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 a German-Austrian film director. He is best known for writing and directing the 2006 dramatic thriller ''Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)'', which won ...

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 Unicycle hockey is a team sport, similar to rink hockey where players try to hit the ball with their sticks into the other team's goal, except that each player must be mounted on a unicycle to play the ball. A team is composed of five players (pl ...

– it features a short sequence showing two people playing the game.

References

External links