''The Virtuous Sinner'' (German: ''Der brave Sünder'') is a 1931

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Fritz Kortner Fritz Kortner (born Fritz Nathan Kohn, 12 May 1892 – 22 July 1970) was an Austrian stage and film actor and theatre director. Life and career Kortner was born in Vienna as Fritz Nathan Kohn into a Jews, Jewish family. He studied at the Vien ...

and starring

Max Pallenberg Max Pallenberg (born 18 December 1877 in Vienna as ''Max Pollack'' – 26 June 1934 in Karlovy Vary) was an Austrian singer, actor and comedian. Although Pallenberg's career started in 1904 it wasn't until 1909 that he joined Theater an der Wien ...

Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...

and

Dolly Haas Dorothy Clara Louise Haas (29 April 1910 – 16 September 1994) was a German-American actress and singer who played in German and American films. After moving to the United States, she often appeared in Broadway plays. She became a naturalized U ...

Production

The film was made at the

Babelsberg Studio Babelsberg Film Studio () (also known as Studio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world, producing films since 1912. With a total area of about and a studio area of a ...

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 ...

, although its setting and many of its principal participants were Austrian. It is based on the play ''

The Embezzlers ''The Embezzlers'' () is a 1926 satirical novel by Valentin Katayev first published in the October-December (Nos. 10, 11, 12) issues of ''Krasnaya Nov'' magazine. The play of the same name, based upon the novel and written in 1927, premiered in ...

'' which was in turn based on a novel by the Soviet writer

Valentin Kataev Valentin Petrovich Kataev (; also spelled Katayev or Kataiev; – 12 April 1986) was a Soviet writer and editor who managed to create penetrating works discussing post-revolutionary social conditions without running afoul of the demands of ...

. Max Pallenberg was a successful stage comedian, but had previously rejected all offers to appear in films based on his theatre appearances. He was finally convinced by the producer

Arnold Pressburger Arnold Pressburger (27 August 1885 – 17 February 1951) was an Austrian Jewish film producer who produced more than 70 films between 1913 and 1951. Pressburger was born in Pressburg, Austria-Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia) and died in Ha ...

to try and film one of his stage successes. The film also offered Kortner a chance to fulfill his ambitions to become a director.Prawer p.131 The film's

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 ...

was

Julius von Borsody Julius von Borsody (8 April 1892 in Vienna – 18 January 1960, also in Vienna) was an Austrian film architect and one of the most employed set designers in the Austrian and German cinemas of the late silent and early sound film periods. His youn ...

Synopsis

Pichler and Wittek, two junior employees of a bank from a provincial

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n town, travel to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where they become accidentally embroiled in their director's scheme to embezzle the bank's funds and flee with his mistress. They become desperate as they fear their disgrace. But events ultimately sort themselves out, the dishonest director is arrested, and Pichler is appointed to replace him while Wittek is able to marry Pichler's daughter Hedwig.

Cast

as Leopold Pichler *

as Wittek *

as Hedwig, Pichler's daughter *

Josefine Dora Josefine Dora (born Isidora Emilie Friese; 13 November 1867 – 28 May 1944) was an Austrian stage and film actress. She appeared in over 100 films, generally in supporting roles such as in '' The Virtuous Sinner'' (1931).Prawer p.137 Selecte ...

as Ludmilla Pichler *

Fritz Grünbaum Franz Friedrich "Fritz" Grünbaum (7 April 1880 – 14 January 1941) was an History of the Jews in Austria, Austrian Jewish cabaret artist, operetta and Schlager music, popular song writer, actor, and master of ceremonies whose art collection wa ...

as Kalapka *

Peter Wolff Peter Wolff (born 10 May 1946) is a politician and attorney from Liechtenstein who served as the President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein from 1997 to 2000. Additionally, he served as a government councillor from 1986 to 1993 and in the Landt ...

as Karl, Pichler's son *

Julius Brandt Julius Brandt (5 March 1873 in Olomouc – 26 December 1949 in Vienna) was an Austrians, Austrian stage actor, stage and film actor, film director and screenwriter. Selected filmography * ''The Gentleman Without a Residence (1915 film), The Gent ...

as Geschäftsführer *

Louis Ralph Louis Ralph (born Ludwig Josef Musik; 17 August 1878 – 16 September 1952) was an Austrian film actor and director. He was born Ludwig Musik in Graz, Styria, Austria-Hungary (now Austria), and died in Berlin at age 74. Selected filmography * ' ...

as Krull *

Ekkehard Arendt Ekkehard Arendt (10 June 1892 – 10 May 1954) was an Austrian stage and film actor. Arendt served in the Austrian Army during the First World War, before moving to Germany to work in the theatre and film industry. He played the role of Handel Van ...

as Direktor Härtl * Rose Poindexter as Kiddy, dancer

References

Bibliography

* Prawer, S.S. ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933''. Berghahn Books, 2005.

External links

* 1931 films Films of the Weimar Republic 1931 comedy films German comedy films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Fritz Kortner Films set in Vienna German films based on plays Films based on Russian novels Films based on adaptations Films produced by Arnold Pressburger German black-and-white films Bavaria Film films Cine-Allianz films Films shot at Babelsberg Studios 1930s German films Films scored by Nicholas Brodszky German-language comedy films {{1930s-Germany-comedy-film-stub