''Linen from Ireland'' () is a 1939 German

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 Heinz Helbig and starring Otto Treßler, Irene von Meyendorff, and Friedl Haerlin.Rentschler p. 153 It was part of an ongoing campaign of

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

in German cinema of the era, and was also intended to discredit the governance of the old

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with t ...

. By the time of the film's release in October 1939, Britain and Germany were at war, so it was also useful in creating anti-British sentiment. It was made as a co-production between the German company Bavaria Film and the Austrian Wien Film which had been created following the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the Nazi Germany, German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "Ger ...

of 1938. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Robert A. Dietrich and

Artur Gunther Artur is a cognate to the common male given name Arthur, meaning "bear-like," which is believed to possibly be descended from the Roman surname Artorius or the Celtic bear-goddess Artio or more probably from the Celtic word ''artos'' ("bear"). Ot ...

Plot

In 1909, in Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Jewish general manager of a large

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not t ...

company imports cheaper

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, intending to drive local manufacturers out of business, which would create mass unemployment among the skilled weavers. The company's elderly owner in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

is unaware of the scheme, but eventually it is exposed.

Cast

* Otto Treßler as Präsident Kettner * Irene von Meyendorff as Lilly, seine Tochter * Friedl Haerlin as Frau von Gebhardt * Oskar Sima as Der Minister *

Georg Alexander Georg Alexander (born Werner Ludwig Georg Lüddeckens; 3 April 1888 – 30 October 1945) was a German film actor who was a prolific presence in German cinema. He also directed a number of films during the silent era. Personal life He was marrie ...

as Freiherr v. Falsz-Pennwiel * Hans Olden as v. Kalinski *

Tibor Halmay Tibor Halmay (20 December 1894 – 2 November 1944) was a Hungarian stage and film actor.von Dassanowsky p.65 He was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and appeared in a mixture of German and Hungarian films during his career. He is sometimes ...

as Horvath v. Arpad-Fálvâ * Rolf Wanka as Dr. Goll * Karl Skraup as Alois Hubermayer * Siegfried Breuer as Dr. Kuhn * Fritz Imhoff as Pollack *

Maria Olszewska Maria Olszewska (Olczewska, also Marie Berchtenbreitner; 12 August 1892 – 17 May 1969) was a German operatic dramatic contralto. Biography Olszewska was born in , Germany. She studied singing in Munich with Karl Erler before beginning her ca ...

as Frau von Kalinski * Anny Kupfner as Wanda von Kalinski * Ernst Arnold as Dr. Seligmann *

Richard Waldemar Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'str ...

* Robert Valberg as Adjutant des Ministers *

Rudolf Carl Rudolf Carl (19 June 189915 January 1987) was an Austrian actor who appeared in more than 150 German language films between 1934 and 1969. He also directed two films '' Der Leberfleck'' and ''Dort in der Wachau''. Selected filmography * ''Polish ...

as Portier im Miniserium * Karl Kneidinger as Bieringen, Buchhalter * Ernst Nadherny * Otto Schmöle as Nagel *

Wilhelm Sichra Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

as Leinenweber * Oskar Wegrostek as Wenzel, Leinenweber * Oskar Werner as Hotelpage

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1939 films German historical drama films Films of Nazi Germany 1930s historical drama films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Heinz Helbig Films set in 1909 Nazi antisemitic propaganda films Bavaria Film films German black-and-white films 1939 drama films Films set in Austria-Hungary 1930s German films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub