''Feind im Blut'' (English: ''Enemy in the Blood'') is a 1931 Swiss-German drama film directed by

Walter Ruttmann Walter Ruttmann (28 December 1887 – 15 July 1941) was a German cinematographer and film director, an important German abstract experimental film maker, along with Hans Richter, Viking Eggeling and Oskar Fischinger. He is best known for direc ...

. It tells three stories about people who become infected with syphilis. There are also documentary parts with information about the disease. The film was co-produced with several organisations focused on combatting sexually transmitted infections.

Plot

A student learns that his girlfriend has been unfaithful. He goes out in the city nightlife together with a friend. The friend spends the night with a waitress and catches syphilis. A mechanic tries to cure his syphilis by going to a

quack Quack, The Quack or Quacks may refer to: People * Quack Davis, American baseball player * Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack (1834–1917), Dutch economist and historian * Joachim Friedrich Quack (born 1966), German Egyptologist * Johannes Quack (bo ...

. It does not help him. His wife gives birth to a child infected with the disease and commits suicide. A married woman attends dancing classes. There she meets a young man who gives her syphilis.

Cast

Gerhard Bienert Gerhard Max Richard Bienert (8 January 1898 – 23 December 1986) was a German stage and film actor. Gerhard Bienert was born in Berlin, Germany and died in the same city in 1986 at age 88. Selected filmography * '' Duke Ferrante's End'' (1922 ...

as mechanic * Ilse Stobrawa as mechanic's wife * Wolfgang Klein as student * Walburga Gmür as student's girlfriend Lili * Helmut Krauss as student's friend *

Margarete Kupfer Margarete Kupfer (born Margarete Kupferschmid; 10 April 1881 – 11 May 1953) was a German actress. Partial filmography * ''The Canned Bride'' (1915) * ''Frau Eva'' (1916) * '' The Queen's Secretary'' (1916) * ''When Four Do the Same'' (1917) ...

as quack * Ruth Albu as married woman

Production

The film was made to inform and warn the public about syphilis. It was produced by in collaboration with the Swiss Society to Combat Sexually Transmitted Diseases, the German Association for the Fight Against Sexually Transmitted Diseases and the Main Health Department of the City of Berlin. Filming took place from 9 February to 27 March 1931 in Berlin and Zürich, with studio scenes in the Lignose-Hörfilm Atelier and Grunewald-Atelier in Berlin.

Release

The film was released in Germany on 14 April 1931. It premiered in Switzerland on 18 April the same year.

References

External links

* 1931 documentary films 1930s educational films Films about syphilis Films directed by Walter Ruttmann Films of the Weimar Republic German documentary films German drama films 1930s German-language films Swiss documentary films Swiss drama films Syphilis German black-and-white films Swiss black-and-white films 1931 drama films 1931 films 1930s German films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub