Hell on Earth (1931 film)

Hell on Earth
Directed by	Victor Trivas; George Shdanoff (uncredited);
Written by	Leonhard Frank (dialogue); Leonhard Frank (story and adaptation); George Shdanoff (uncredited); Victor Trivas (uncredited);
Music by	Hanns Eisler
Cinematography	Georg Stilianudis; Alexander von Lagorio;
Edited by	Brian King; Walter S. Stern;
Release date	10 December 1931;
Running time	93 minutes; 66 minutes (1969 restored version);
Country	Weimar Republic
Language	French; English; Yiddish; German;

Hell on Earth (German: Niemandsland, lit. 'No Man's Land') is a 1931 German anti-war film directed by Victor Trivas. In France, The film is also known as No Man's Land.

Plot summary

The film is mainly set in a dugout, formed from a basement, in the no man's land between the trenches and front lines during the First World War.

A ruined house is entered by a soldier stranded between the lines who then discovers an injured man trapped beneath a heavy beam in the basement. The man has no uniform and is rescued by him and another man who we finally realise are on different sides. The injured man cannot speak and is helped out by the other two. They try to leave and return to their own lines but are fired upon by both sides and so return to the safety of the basement.

More soldiers find the safe haven in between all the firing and death, with the credits listing the characters as The Englishman, The Frenchman, The Russian Jew, The Vaudevillian and The German. The storyline follows arguments and discussions between them and ends with them marching out together with a final commentary declaring the sentiment of peace "Marching forward. Defying their common enemy - WAR."

Cast

Ernst Busch as Ernst Kohler
Vladimir Sokoloff as Lewin
Renée Stobrawa as Frau Kohler
Elisabeth Lennartz as Lewin's Bride
Hugh Douglas as Charles Brown
Louis Douglas as Joe Smile
Zoe Frank as Mrs. Brown
Georges Péclet as Charles Durand
Rose-Mai as Frenchman's Sweetheart

Soundtrack

Ernst Busch's version of "Der heimliche Aufmarsch" (The Secret Deployment) by Erich Weinert (poem) and Hanns Eisler (music) is played at the end of the film.

gollark: Ah yes, a natural 19.

gollark: ++roll d20

gollark: Okay, fine, rerunning.

gollark: Too bad.

gollark: ++roll d20

References

Knight, Arthur (1957). The Liveliest Art: A Panoramic History of the Movies. New York: Macmillan. p. 196. OCLC 1031724974.

External links

Niemandsland on IMDb
Hell on Earth is available for free download at the Internet Archive

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.