The Definitive Guide Deeply Connected to How Shall I Tell My Husban...

Dir: Reinhold Schünzel

About a lurid tale of magic and secret societies during the reign of Luis XVI, focused on the figure of the Italian occultist Giuseppe Balsamo, known under his alias of Count Alessandro di Cagliostro.

Dir: Reinhold Schünzel

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Das schöne Abenteuer perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Helene has agreed to marry a man that she isn't in love with. On the day of her wedding her cousin arrives just in time to rescue her and they run away together. They stay with her aged grandmother who assumes the young man (whom she doesn't know) to be the new husband and has prepared a bridal bed for them.

Dir: Reinhold Schünzel

Lamenting Thebian women are waiting for the men to come back from war. God Jupiter is attracted to one of them: Alkmene. He goes to earth and tries to seduce her as himself: an old man. Failing in this, he disguises himself as Amphitryon (Alkemene's husband) and tries again. Next morning Amphitryon and his men come back from war; he suspects adultery and wants a divorce. Jupiter's wive Juno now also comes to earth and clears things up.

Dir: Reinhold Schünzel

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Amphitryon perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A young woman tries to hinder her sister from committing adultery - by wooing the suitor herself.

Dir: Reinhold Schünzel

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Reinhold Schünzel

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Die Töchter ihrer Exzellenz perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Peter Fall, once a gentleman of fine society, is cheated upon and ruined by the woman he loves. He disappears from the scene and goes to sea as a sailor.

Dir: Reinhold Schünzel

Gerte Winter, a young Berliner mechanic, marries an English rich nobleman who promises to send for her. Time goes on, and tired of waiting Gerte heads off to England. After some new acquaintances she finds herself in front of a big fenced property.

Dir: Reinhold Schünzel

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Girl Irene perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Reinhold Schünzel

Rupp (Jannings) is a former butcher, made rich in the meat packing industry as a result of the reversal of fortunes brought on by WWI. He is crude, uncouth and uneducated. His son, Fred, is the apple of his father's eye and is an auto enthusiast. The widowed Rupp falls in love with a former aristocrat, Helen, now down on her luck and pawning her last heirloom. He proposes marriage and she accepts in order to save her ailing mother who needs a monetary influx to avoid death. Her former boyfriend, Platen, warns Helen against Rupp's intentions - he and Rupp are enemies, Rupp having caused his being fired for protecting a chorus girl against Rupp's unwanted advances. Meanwhile, Graf, a shyster, arranges purchase of a near bankrupt auto manufacturing firm, Phoenix, to Rupp's great advantage with practically no monetary recognition to Graf, who swears revenge. Rupp comes upon his son begging Helen not to marry his father but to return to Platen. Rupp misinterprets the scene, thinks his son is after his intended, and banishes him. The last twenty minutes involve an auto race and its aftermath. Fred unknown to all becomes the driver of his father's rival auto maker. Platen is driving for Rupp's firm, Phoenix. In order to win, Rupp has bribed Graf to make sure his rival won't.

Dir: Reinhold Schünzel

Jupiter descends from Olympus to Greek Thebes, where in disguise he seduces the wife of one of the men who are away at war.