''Life's Circus'' (German: ''Manege'') is a 1928 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

Max Reichmann Max Reichmann (1884-1958) was a German film director active during the silent and early sound eras. Before making his own films, Reichmann worked as an assistant director on several E.A. Dupont productions. After graduating to directing, he direct ...

and starring Raimondo Van Riel, Ernst Van Duren and

Kurt Gerron Kurt Gerron (11 May 1897 – 28 October 1944) was a German Jewish actor and film director. He and his wife, Olga were murdered in the Holocaust. Life Born Kurt Gerson into a well-off merchant family in Berlin, he studied medicine before being ca ...

.Bock & Bergfelder p.156 It was shot at the

Staaken Studios Staaken Studios was a film studio located in Staaken on the outskirts of the German capital Berlin. A large former zeppelin hangar, it was converted to film use following the First World War and operated during the Weimar Republic. In July 1923 it ...

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. The film's sets were designed by Leopold Blonder. It was made by the German branch of

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

and premiered at the

Marmorhaus The Marmorhaus (English: Marble House) is a former cinema located on the Kurfürstendamm in Berlin. Opened in 1913, it takes its name from a large marble façade. Designed by the architect Hugo Pál, the walls of the foyer and auditorium were de ...

in Germany's capital city.

Cast

* Raimondo Van Riel as Gaston Flamingo *Ernst Van Duren as Ralf Flamingo *

as Bela Garay *

Lucie Höflich Lucie Höflich (born Helene Lucie von Holwede; 20 February 1883 – 9 October 1956) was a German actress, teacher and head of the Staatliche Schauspielschule (State Drama School) in Berlin.

as Seine Frau * Mary Johnson as Eve Garay *

Valerie Boothby Valerie Boothby (born Wally Drucker, 18 October 1904 – 14 April 1982) was a German actress, painter, and writer. Biography Valerie Boothby was born Wally Drucker on 18 October 1904 in Hamburg-Mitte, Hamburg, in what was then the German Empire, ...

as Frau im Nordexpress * Valy Arnheim as Der Stallmeister * Alexander Murski as Der Direktor

References

Bibliography

* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise Cinegraph: Encyclopaedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

* 1928 films Films of the Weimar Republic German silent feature films Films directed by Max Reichmann 1928 drama films Circus films German black-and-white films Silent German drama films Films shot at Staaken Studios 1920s German films {{Germany-silent-film-stub