The Transformation of Dr. Bessel
The Transformation of Dr. Bessel (German: Dr. Bessels Verwandlung ) is a 1927 German silent film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Jakob Tiedtke, Sophie Pagay and Hans Stüwe.[1] The film was based on a novel by Ludwig Wolff. It premiered at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo. It has thematic similarities with Ernst Lubitsch's 1932 film The Man I Killed. Whereas that film featured a French soldier partially assuming the identity of a dead German, in Oswald's film a German is able to survive by pretending to be French.[2]
| The Transformation of Dr. Bessel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Richard Oswald |
| Written by | Herbert Juttke Georg C. Klaren |
| Based on | Doktor Bessels Verwandlung by Ludwig Wolff |
| Produced by | Richard Oswald |
| Starring | Jakob Tiedtke Sophie Pagay Hans Stüwe Agnes Esterhazy |
| Cinematography | Axel Graatkjær |
Production company | |
Release date | 8 December 1927 |
Running time | 70 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Languages | Silent German intertitles |
The film's sets were designed by the art director Franz Seemann and Bruno Lutz.
Synopsis
During the First World War, a German soldier escapes capture on the battlefield by taking the uniform of a French soldier. He then marries and settles down in Marseilles, abandoning any sense of national identity. Due to his language skills he is able to become a major success in international commerce.
Cast
- Jakob Tiedtke as Fabrikant Julius Bessel
- Sophie Pagay as Frau Bessel
- Hans Stüwe as Alexander, ihr Sohn
- Agnes Esterhazy as Helene Bissel, Alexanders Frau
- Gertrud Eysoldt as Frau Pelagie Trouille
- Agnes Petersen-Mozzuchinowa as Germaine, ihre Nichte
- Kurt Gerron as der Grieche Georgakopoulos
- Angelo Ferrari as der Spanier Pedro de Ferrante
- Betty Astor as Karin Lundbye, ein Modell
- Sig Arno as Chevallier, ein französischer Soldat
- Rosa Valetti as Die Wirtin des Hotel garni
- Hella Kürty as Paulette, Hotelstubenmädchen
- Hermann Picha as Ein französischer Buchhändler
- Max Neufeld as Ein französischer Major
- Otto Wallburg as Ein französischer Sergeant
- Curt Bois as Simche Regierer
- Ilka Grüning as Frau Regierer
- Ferdinand Bonn as Oberst Jovan Simonitsch
- Lydia Potechina as Frau Simonitsch
- Hertha von Walther as Eine Miß
- Georg Burghardt as Ein französischer Offizier
- Eva Speyer
- Jaro Fürth
- Hugo Döblin
- Friedrich Kühne
- Harry Nestor
References
- Rogowski p.265
- Continuity and Crisis in German Cinema p.301
Bibliography
- Hales, Barbara, Petrescu, Mihaela & Weinstein, Valerie. Continuity and Crisis in German Cinema, 1928-1936. Camden House, 2016.
- Rogowski, Christian. The Many Faces of Weimar Cinema: Rediscovering Germany's Filmic Legacy. Camden House, 2010.