''From Morn to Midnight'' () is a 1920 German silent

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

film directed by

Karlheinz Martin Karlheinz Martin (May 6, 1886 – January 13, 1948) was a German stage and film director, best known for his expressionist productions. After enjoying success with experimental productions in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg, Martin went to Berlin, ...

based on the 1912 play ''

From Morning to Midnight ''Von morgens bis mitternachts'' is an expressionist play written by the German dramatist Georg Kaiser in 1912. The play was banned by German censors for unclear reasons; contemporary accounts stated that the play was neither immoral nor anarchis ...

'' by Georg Kaiser. It is one of the most radical films of the

German Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

movement. The film uses stylized distorted sets, designed by

Robert Neppach Robert Neppach (2 March 1890 – 18 August 1939) was an Austrian architect, film producer and art director. Neppach worked from 1919 in the German film industry. He oversaw the art direction of over 80 films during his career, including F.W. Mur ...

, which are even more avant-garde than those of the 1920 film ''

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' () is a 1920 German silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. The quintessential work of early German Expressionist cinema, it tells the story of an insane hypno ...

''.

Plot

The film is divided in five acts.

1st Act

A foreign lady comes into a bank to withdraw money but the bank manager has not received a communication authorising the payment. The bank cashier is fascinated by her and contrasts her glamour with his boring life. A young man, the son of the lady, wants to buy a painting from a second-hand shop. The lady goes back to the bank to get money, without success. A beggar girl comes to the bank to beg for money. The cashier sees her as death. He steals a large amount of money from the bank.

2nd Act

The cashier goes to the lady's hotel and offers her his money, if she agrees to leave with him, but she only laughs at him and threatens to call her son. Learning that she has a son, he leaves the hotel. In front of the door, he sees the beggar girl again as death.

3rd Act

Meanwhile, his theft is discovered at the bank. At home, the cashier is welcome by his cosy and nauseating family. Aware of the danger of discovery, he flees on the road in a snow storm. The bank manager comes to his house with the police. A telegraphic message is sent indicating that a cashier is on the run. The cashier arrives at a large city. He buys top hat, white tie and tails.

4th Act

The cashier attends a six day bicycle race and offers a large sum of money for a special prize. He wants to buy passion for money. The various classes of society attending the race get very excited. But the arrival of the local Prince douses popular enthusiasm and they all bow to salute him. Disappointed, the cashier leaves and goes to a dance where he gets a private lounge where he tries to seduce two girls with his money. But the first one throws a glass of Sekt at him and the second one has a wooden leg. He sees her as death.

5th Act

A man brings the cashier to a seedy pub where he starts playing cards. As he wins the whole time, one of the men wants to stab him, but he is saved by a

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

girl. He follows her to the Salvation Army premises. Inside, a man is confessing his sins. The cashier confesses that he has stolen from the bank and throws what is left of the money at the attendants. They all rush to take the money and run away. The Salvation Army girl tries to comfort him, but he sees her as death. He tells her there is a 5,000 marks reward for his capture. She rushes to report him to the police. When the police arrive, he shoots himself.

Cast

Ernst Deutsch Ernst Deutsch, also known as Ernest Dorian (16 September 1890 – 22 March 1969), was a Jewish Austrian actor. In 1916, his performance as the protagonist in the world première of Walter Hasenclever's Expressionist play '' The Son'' in Dres ...

as the Cashier *

Roma Bahn Roma Bahn (1896–1975) was a German stage and film actress.Fuegi p.201 On stage she was notable for her performances as Polly in the original 1928 production of ''The Threepenny Opera''. In cinema she played supporting roles in films made during ...

as his Daughter, a Beggar, a Whore, a Salvation Army Girl and a Lady with a wooden leg *

Erna Morena Erna Morena (born Ernestine Maria Fuchs, 24 April 1885 – 20 July 1962) was a German film actress, film producer, and screenwriter of the silent film, silent era. She appeared in 104 films between 1913 and 1951. Biography Ernestine Maria Fuchs ...

as Dame * Adolf Edgar Licho as the Fat Man *

Hans Heinrich von Twardowski Hans Heinrich von Twardowski (5 May 1898 – 19 November 1958) was a German film actor. Career In Germany Twardowski was born in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin in Poland). He made his first film appearance in the 1920 Robert Wiene-directed hor ...

as the Young Man *

Frida Richard Frida Richard (born Friederike Raithel, 1 November 1873 – 12 September 1946) was an Austrian actress. She was a prolific actress in both the silent and sound eras. Selected filmography * ''The Sin of Helga Arndt'' (1916) * '' The Queen's Lov ...

as the Grandmother * Eberhard Wrede as the Bank Manager *

Hugo Döblin Hugo Döblin (29 October 1876 – 4 November 1960) was a German stage and film actor.Hardt, Ursula. ''From Caligari to California: Erich Pommer's Life in the International Film Wars''. Berghahn Books, 1996. p. 233 He appeared in more than eighty ...

as the Second-Hand Dealer *

Lotte Stein Lotte Stein (1894–1982) was a German actress of the stage and screen. Of Jewish descent, she fled to the United States via Czechoslovakia and Portugal, and arrived at the Port of New York on board the SS ''Mouzinho'' in June 1941. Selected fi ...

as the Wife

Production

The film was produced in 1920 by theatre director

, a few months after the release of ''

''. He had already directed on stage the 1912 eponymous play by Georg Kaiser before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The stage-like painted sets, the costumes and the performance of the actors form an artistic unity and are characteristic of

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

. ''From Morn to Midnight'' is one of the first German films that address the lure of "the great world" and "the street". It can be considered as a forerunner of the so-called street films (''Straßenfilme''), such as

Karl Grune Karl Grune (22 January 1890 – 2 October 1962) was an Austrian film director and writer who made many silent films in the 1920s. Grune was born into a Jewish family Siegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in Germa ...

's '' Die Straße'' (1923) and

Georg Wilhelm Pabst Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic. ...

's '' Joyless Street'' (1925).

Distribution

The world première of the film in Germany was not recorded. It was probably only shown in a few cinemas or in private screenings. The film was however screened with some success in Japan in 1922. It was long considered lost until 1959 when a copy was found at the Tokyo National Film Center in Japan. It was acquired by the National Film Archive of the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

and was screened for the first time in Germany in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

in 1963.

References

External links

*
''Von morgens bis mitternachts''
a
A Cinema History
{{DEFAULTSORT:From Morn to Midnight 1920 films German silent feature films German Expressionist films German black-and-white films Films of the Weimar Republic Films directed by Karlheinz Martin Films based on works by Georg Kaiser