Der Mann, der den Mord beging

Since Claude Farriere wrote his 'L'Homme qui assassina' in 1906 it has proved popular amongst film makers. Filmed in 1913 and as 'The Right to Love' in 1920 it was made in 1931 by Kurt(later Curtis) Bernhardt in French and in German. An English and Spanish version were made the same year by Dimitri Buchowetzki, a director who went from Russia to America via Germany and was condemned by Hollywood to making 'multiple versions'. The German version under review is absolutely mesmerising due not least to the cinematography of Curt Courant and to its excellent cast. Conrad Veidt is the suave de Sevigny and Heinrich Georg the monstrous Lord Falkland whilst Lady Falkland is played by the fascinating Trude von Molo who was at the time married to the director. Such a pity that her career only spanned about three years and ceased when she emigrated to Latin America in the same year that Kurt fled Germany. Coincidence? Interesting to speculate. She was, after all , the daughter of writer Walter von Molo who was subject to constant harassment by the Nazis for his liberal beliefs. Editing on this film is by Lazlo Benedek who went to Hollywood where he directed the excellent but badly received 'Death of a Salesman' and the mediocre but notorious ' The Wild One'. Atmospheric, mysterious and interesting on so many levels this film should be on the list of every true cinephile.

Conrad Veidt is the new French military attache assigned to Istanbul in 1912. He is called upon by Heinrich George, a monstrous-looking Englishman who comamnds much of the finances of Turkey -- for the benefit of other countries -- and who has no interest, as Veidt does, in the poetry of Racine. Touring the Bosporus, he spots Trude von Molo, and soon finds out that she is George's wife, trapped in his household where his mistress as been installed, unable to leave because she will lose her son. He also discovers some of George's other disgusting habits, like his taste for bad champagne and his frequenting of brothels.

Veidt gives a typically elegant performance. He does very little, but he is an acute observer, and it is largely through his eyes that we are told the story of the degradation of fraulein von Molo. It is by no means a understated performance, although he maintains the blank expression and meaningless tone of a diplomat. Instead, director Curtis Bernhardt forces the audience to see things his eyes by means of cinematographer Curt Courant's deceptively simple compositions.

There is extensive location shooting in Istanbul in the movie, done by John Alton.