''The Merchant of Venice '' (German: ''Der Kaufmann von Venedig'') is a 1923 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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Peter Paul Felner and starring

Werner Krauss Werner Johannes Krauss (''Krauß'' in German; 23 June 1884 – 20 October 1959) was a German stage and film actor. Krauss dominated the German stage of the early 20th century. However, his participation in the antisemitic propaganda film ''Jud S ...

, Henny Porten and

Harry Liedtke Harry Liedtke (12 October 1882 – 28 April 1945) was a German film actor. Early life Liedtke was born in Königsberg, East Prussia to a merchant as the seventh out of 12 children. After the death of his father in 1896, he grew up in an orphanage ...

. The film is an adaptation of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

''. It was released in the United States in 1926 as ''The Jew of Mestri''. The film was made on location in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, with scenes and characters added which were not in the original play. This is the surviving copy, being two

reels A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the ends ...

shorter than the German version. The characters in the German retained Shakespeare's nomenclature, but in the American they were given new names sourced from the Italian work ''

Il Pecorone ''Il Pecorone'', often referred to in English as ''The Golden Eagle'', is an Italian novela written between 1378 and 1385 by Giovanni Fiorentino. It was written in a style influenced by the ''Decameron'' of Giovanni Boccaccio, the Golden Legend ...

'', a 14th-century short story collection attributed to

Giovanni Fiorentino Giovanni Fiorentino was a 14th-century Florentine writer, to whom is attributed the work '' Il Pecorone'' (''"The Simpleton"''). This was a collection of short stories, purportedly published in 1378. However, this date is disputed. The attributi ...

, from which Shakespeare is believed to have drawn his idea. The film purports to be a return to the original, as an excuse for its differences from the play.

Cast

The characters are renamed in the extant English script.Robert Hamilton Ball, 1968. ''Shakespeare on Silent Film: A Strange Eventful History'' *

- Shylock (Mordecai) * Henny Porten - Porzia (Beatrice) *

Bassanio Bassanio is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''The Merchant of Venice ''Bassanio,'' the best friend of Antonio. He is a spendthrift who wasted all of his money in order to be seen as a respectable man. To regain his fortune, he is deter ...

(Giannetto) *

Carl Ebert Carl Anton Charles Ebert (20 February 1887 – 14 May 1980), was an actor, stage director and arts administrator. Ebert's early career was as an actor, training under Max Reinhardt and becoming one of the leading actors in his native Germany duri ...

- Antonio (Benito)Antonio in Shakespeare and the German; Benito in the American; Ansaldo in ''Il Pecorone''. *

Max Schreck Friedrich Gustav Maximilian Schreck Eickhoff, Stefan. 2007 (6 September 1879 – 20 February 1936), Walk, Ines. 2006. known professionally as Max Schreck, was a German actor, best known for his lead role as the vampire Count Orlok in the film ...

- Der Doge von Venedig (Doge of Venice) * Ferdinand von Alten - Prinz von Arragon (Prince of Aragon) * Albert Steinrück - Tubal (Tubal) *

Frida Richard Frida Richard (born Friederike Raithel, 1 November 1873 – 12 September 1946) was an Austrian actress. Selected filmography * '' The Sin of Helga Arndt'' (1916) * '' The Queen's Love Letter'' (1916) * '' The Marriage of Luise Rohrbach'' (1917) ...

- Shylocks Mutter (Wife of Mordecai) *

Lia Eibenschütz Lia Eibenschütz (1899–1985) was a German actress. She was married to the actor Kurt Vespermann with whom she had a son Gerd Vespermann who also became an actor. Selected filmography * '' The War of the Oxen'' (1920) * '' The Legend of Holy S ...

- Jessica (Rachela) * Hans Brausewetter - Lanzelot Gobbo (Elias) *

Jakob Tiedtke Jakob Karl Heinrich Wilhelm Tiedtke (23 June 1875 – 30 June 1960) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1914 and 1955. Selected filmography * ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' (1918) * '' The Doll'' (1919) * '' ...

- Beppo (Marco)

Synopsis

The script varies significantly from Shakespeare's original. Mordecai, The Jew of Mestri, has a young daughter, Rachela, whom he has betrothed against her will to Elias, the son of his merchant friend Tubal. Rachela is secretly in love with the Signor Lorenzo, a Venetian gentleman - and a Christian. Giannetto is an idle scapegrace who has lost his inheritance and is carelessly living on his affluent merchant friend, Benito, on whom he habitually charges his debts. The Lady of Belmonte, Signora Beatrice, is an affluent widow in the region, whose hand is much sought after. Giannetto visits her and also falls for her charms. The Prince of Aragon is the most distinguished of her many suitors, but she despises him as a vain popinjay. Beatrice is immediately favourable towards Giannetto's suit, but Aragon tell her that he is in fact an idle pauper, and disappointed she reluctantly consents to marry the Prince instead. Changing her mind after, she seeks out Benito to find whether the tales are true; he convinces her that it is but idle slander, and she promptly plights her troth to Giannetto. Meantime Rachela has eloped with Lorenzo, and together they seek refuge in Signora Beatrice's house. Her father and the rest of the Jews disown her; as a Christian she is regarded as dead. Some of Benito's ships have been lost at sea, and when the time comes for his friend's marriage, he cannot defray the costs. Knowing that other of his ships are sure to return in time, he borrows money for him of the Jew of Mestri, giving him a bond for the sum at a month's date. Giannetto reluctantly agrees to this; the forfeit in the bond is a pound of flesh from the defaulter; Benito is confident that he can pay the money in time, Mordecai hopes this will be an opportunity for taking revenge for the loss of his daughter. The time comes for the bond to expire, and news arrived that the rest of Benito's ships have been destroyed. Rejoicing, Mordecai hauls him before the court, demanding his stipulated forfeit. Giannetto, telling Beatrice of his friend's danger, receives thrice the sum from her coffers and attempts to redeem the bond, but Mordecai is obdurate – the date is past. Beatrice then disguises herself as a Doctor of Law and comes to the court; initially agreeing to the Jew's demands, when he prepares his knife to the breast of Benito she halts him, reminding him that is he is not utterly exact in the flesh he removes - one pound - his life will be forfeit. Sensing this as an impossibility he desists, and the bond is annulled. Benito offers the fair Doctor payment for her services, but she refuses, desiring only as a courtesy a ring of Giannetto - the same she had herself given him, bidding him keep it always; he reluctantly gives it up. Returning home, she chides him with his want of faith at losing her gift, before revealing her deception. The lovers reunite, Lorenzo marries Rachela and Giannetto Beatrice. Old Mordecai is left alone and desolate.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merchant of Venice 1923 films 1920s historical drama films Films of the Weimar Republic German historical drama films German silent feature films Films directed by Peter Paul Felner German films based on plays Films based on The Merchant of Venice German black-and-white films Phoebus Film films 1923 drama films Silent drama films 1920s German films 1920s German-language films