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The Island (1934 film)

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The Island
Directed byHans Steinhoff
Written by
Produced byKarl Ritter
Starring
CinematographyKonstantin Irmen-Tschet
Edited byWilly Zeyn
Music byWerner Bochmann
Production
company
Distributed byUFA
Release date
  • 30 August 1934 (1934-08-30)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryGermany
LanguageGerman

The Island (German: Die Insel) is a 1934 German thriller film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Brigitte Helm, Willy Fritsch and Hubert von Meyerinck.[1] The film's sets were designed by the art directors Artur Günther and Benno von Arent. Location shooting took place on the coast of Dalmatia. It premiered at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo in Berlin in August 1934. A separate French version Vers l'abîme was also released.

Plot

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The action centers on an embassy nestled in a posh residential area but isolated from its surroundings much like an island unto itself.

Among the guests at a reception organized by the embassy is a blackmailer who offers military attaché Captain Rist the opportunity to reaquire a set of secret war plans the blackmailer previously stole from him. Since Rist does not know exactly what the plans are, he agrees to meet the blackmailer in the Silvia Bar. It quickly becomes clear to him that the documents on offer are plans he himself once drafted for practice purposes and are completely worthless. Rist also realizes that should these documents get into the hands of the press, they could cause considerable damage and seriously jeopardize the good relations of the countries concerned. In this situation, he believes meeting the blackmailer's demands is the best way forward.

Since Captain Rist does not have the demanded amount of $6,000, he agrees to sign a promissory note for a ficticious gambling debt payable within 24 hours. At this moment, police officers pursuing an unrelated matter make an entrance and arrest the blackmailer, who still manages to slip the filled-in promissory note to the bar owner, Silvia. She grasps the opportunity to pocket a nice sum of money and goes to the embassy the following day to claim the outstanding amount. Rist asks for an extension of the payment deadline, but the bar owner wants the money immediately. Rist realizes that Silvia is under the mistaken belief that she is talking to commercial attaché Raak, whose checkbook is on the desk. Seeing no other way out, Rist takes the checkbook and writes a check for the amount demanded. He forges Raak's signature and gives the check to Silvia, who then leaves the premises.

The cashing of this large check pushes Raak's account into the red and he becomes aware of the fraud. When the ambassador learns that there has been some unspecified financial irregularity, he pressures Raak to honor the check so that the embassy and its staff would not be put in a bad light. Feeling that his honor has been violated, Raak tenders his resignation from the civil service. Raak's reaction prompts the ambassador to examine the situation in greater depth. Realizing that there must be a miscreant in his embassy's ranks, he assembles his entire staff and tells them that he expects the culprit to do the honorable thing.

Captain Rist decides to take the blame and sees only one way out. He takes his own life by driving his car off a coastal road into the sea. Raak's reputation is restored and he can continue to plan a future with the ambassador's daughter.

Cast

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References

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  1. ^ Bock & Bergfelder p. 460

Bibliography

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  • Bock, Hans-Michael; Bergfelder, Tim, eds. (2009). The Concise Cinegraph: Encyclopaedia of German Cinema. New York: Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-57181-655-9.
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