The Sinner (1951 film)
The Sinner (German: Die Sünderin) is a 1951 West German romantic drama film directed by Willi Forst and starring Hildegard Knef, Gustav Fröhlich and Änne Bruck.[1] It was shot at the Bendestorf Studios and on location in Naples, Rome and Positano. The film's sets were designed by the art director Franz Schroedter.
The Sinner | |
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Directed by | Willi Forst |
Written by |
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Produced by | Rolf Meyer |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Václav Vích |
Edited by | Max Brenner |
Music by | Theo Mackeben |
Production company |
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Distributed by | Herzog-Filmverleih |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
Country | West Germany |
Language | German |
Plot
It is a love story between the prostitute Marina and the unsuccessful artist Alexander, who suffers from a cancer which makes him blind and ill. They are happy for a short period in Italy. Despite Marina's loving care, Alexanders health gets worse and they together commit suicide in the end.[2]
Scandal
It was one of the first German films to break several taboos: nudity, suicide and euthanasia. In the Germany of the 1950s, this caused a lot of negative reactions both by politicians and the Roman Catholic Church.[2][3] The opposition reached the degree of banning the film and scandalizing it, which paradoxically made it one of the landmarks in the German film history. Despite or because of the scandal, Die Sünderin proved to be the breakthrough role of Hildegard Knef.
Cast
- Hildegard Knef as Marina
- Gustav Fröhlich as Alexander
- Änne Bruck as Marina's mother
- Wera Frydtberg as a colleague
- Robert Meyn as Marina's stepfather
- Jochen-Wolfgang Meyn as Marina's stepbrother
- Andreas Wolf as a doctor
Notes and references
- Holloway, Ron (2002-02-02). "Hildegard Knef". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
- "The Scandal surrounding The Sinner [Die Sünderin] (1951)". German History in Documents and Images (GHDI). Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- Robert von Dassanowsky (10 October 2005). Austrian Cinema: A History. McFarland. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-7864-3733-7.