''The Burning Secret'' () is a 1933 Austrian-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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Robert Siodmak Robert Siodmak (; 8 August 1900 – 10 March 1973) was a German Jewish film director. His career spanned some 40 years, working extensively in the United States and France, as well as in his native country. Though he worked in many genres, he was ...

and starring Alfred Abel,

Hilde Wagener Hilde Wagener (26 September 1904 – 26 December 1992) was a German-born actress who settled in Austria. Primarily a stage actress, she also appeared in several films, such as ''The Burning Secret'' (1933), generally in supporting roles.Goble p.519 ...

and Hans Joachim Schaufuß. It was based on the 1913 novella of the same title by Stefan Zweig. It was released by the German branch of

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. It was shot at the EFA Studios in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and on location around Ascona in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Robert A. Dietrich. Because of its theme of adultery, the film was attacked by Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Propaganda Minister.Reimer & Reimer p. 275

Cast

* Alfred Abel as Der Mann *

as Die Frau * Hans Joachim Schaufuß as Edgar * Lucie Höflich as Mutter der Frau * Willi Forst as Herr von Haller, Rennfahrer * Ernst Dumcke as Baron Tosse *

Alfred Beierle Alfred Beierle (4 June 1885 – 16 March 1950) was a German stage actor, stage and film actor.Alpi p.346 Selected filmography * ''The League of Three'' (1929) * ''The Flute Concert of Sanssouci'' (1930) * ''The Tiger Murder Case'' (1930) * ''Oh T ...

as Müller, Hoteldetektiv * Hans Richter as Fritz, Page * Rina Marsa as Fräulein de la Roche * Heinz Berghaus as Hotelportier * Lotte Stein as Frau Klappholz

Production

''The Burning Secret'' was the last film

, who was Jewish, directed before the Nazi seizure of power. The film was based on the story by Stefan Zweig that was previously adapted as a

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

. The cinematography was done by Richard Angst.

Release

The film was released in Berlin on 29 March 1933, but was shown without the credits for director, composer, lyricist, and original author. Joseph Goebbels attacked Siodmak as a "corrupter of the German family" in '' Völkischer Beobachter''. Siodmak and his brother later left Germany for France and then the United States.

References

Works cited

Bibliography

* Alpi, Deborah Lazaroff. ''Robert Siodmak: A Biography, with Critical Analyses of His Films Noirs and a Filmography of All His Works''. McFarland, 1998. * Hake, Sabine. ''Popular Cinema of the Third Reich''. University of Texas Press, 2001. * Klaus, Ulrich J. ''Deutsche Tonfilme: Jahrgang 1933''. Klaus-Archiv, 1988. * Reimer, Robert C. & Reimer, Carol J. ''The A to Z of German Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2010.

External links

* 1933 films 1933 drama films Austrian drama films German drama films Films of the Weimar Republic 1930s German-language films Films directed by Robert Siodmak Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Stefan Zweig Remakes of German films Sound film remakes of silent films Films set in hotels Films about adultery Universal Pictures films German black-and-white films Austrian black-and-white films 1930s German films Films shot at Halensee Studios Films shot in Switzerland German-language drama films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub