''The Marathon Runner'' (german: Der Läufer von Marathon) is a 1933 German

sports film A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the s ...

directed by

Ewald André Dupont Ewald André Dupont (25 December 1891 – 12 December 1956) was a German film director, one of the pioneers of the German film industry. He was often credited as E. A. Dupont. Early career A newspaper columnist in 1916, Dupont became a screenwri ...

and starring

Brigitte Helm Brigitte Helm (born Brigitte Gisela Eva Schittenhelm, 17 March 1906 – 11 June 1996) was a German actress, best remembered for her dual role as Maria and her double named Futura, in Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film, '' Metropolis''. Early life ...

Hans Brausewetter Hans Brausewetter (27 May 1899 – 29 April 1945) was a German stage and film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1922 and 1945. He appeared in the 1923 film '' The Treasure'', which was directed by Georg Wil ...

and Ursula Grabley. It was based on a 1928 novel by

Werner Scheff Werner Scheff (1888–1947) was a German novelist and screenwriter. He is particularly noted as a prolific writer of sports fiction.Jensen p. 98 Following the Nazi Party's rise to power, he emigrated and died in London in 1947. Selected filmogra ...

, adapted by screenwriter

Thea von Harbou Thea Gabriele von Harbou (27 December 1888 – 1 July 1954) was a German screenwriter, novelist, film director, and actress. She is remembered as the screenwriter of the science fiction film classic ''Metropolis'' (1927) and for the 19 ...

. The film focuses on a love triangle between three German athletes competing at the 1932 Olympic Games in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

.Bergfelder & Cargnelli p. 34 It was shot at the

Johannisthal Studios The Johannisthal Studios were film studios located in the Berlin area of Johannisthal. Founded in 1920 on the site of a former airfield, they were a centre of production during the Weimar and Nazi eras. Nearly four hundred films were made at Joha ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

with sets designed by the art directors Ernő Metzner and Erich Zander. The German premiere took place at the

Ufa-Palast am Zoo The Ufa-Palast am Zoo, located near Berlin Zoological Garden in the New West area of Charlottenburg, was a major Berlin cinema owned by Universum Film AG, or Ufa. Opened in 1919 and enlarged in 1925, it was the largest cinema in Germany until 192 ...

. It was the last film Dupont made in Germany, before escaping into exile following the rise to power of the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Cast

as Lore Steinkopf *

as Karl Roesicke * Ursula Grabley as Else Wittig, Lores Freundin *

Viktor de Kowa Viktor de Kowa (also spelled Victor de Kowa, born Victor Paul Karl Kowalczyk; 8 March 1904 – 8 April 1973) was a German stage and film actor, chanson singer, director, narrator, and comic poet. Life He was born the son of a farmer and engineer ...

as Georg Cornelius * Paul Hartmann as José Barrada *

Trude von Molo Trude von Molo (22 December 1906 – 27 November 1989) was an Austrian film actress.Youngkin p.465 She was the daughter of the writer Walter von Molo and the twin sister of Conrad von Molo. Von Molo attended the Max Reinhardt training school. ...

as Evelyne Barrada * Oscar Sabo as Werner Franck, Trainer *

Carl Balhaus Carl Balhaus (born Carl Ballhaus; 4 November 1905 – 28 July 1968) was a German stage and film actor. After the Second World War he worked as screenwriter and director for the East German state-owned studio DEFA. He was an uncle of the Academ ...

as Hans Huber * Nien Soen Ling as Tschou Ling *

Alfred Durra Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

as Ein Reporter

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1933 films Films of the Weimar Republic 1930s sports films German sports films 1930s German-language films Films directed by E. A. Dupont Films set in Los Angeles 1932 Summer Olympics Films about the 1932 Summer Olympics Films about Olympic track and field Running films Films with screenplays by Thea von Harbou German black-and-white films 1930s German films Films shot at Johannisthal Studios {{sport-film-stub