Steibruch

Steibruch belongs to the impressive output of dialect films made in Switzerland during the Nazi terror regime in neighboring Germany (they were an important part of the so called "spiritual national defense" during WW II, the use of Alemannic dialect was to stave off the Germanic nationalistic propaganda onslaught partially German (dialect) speaking Switzerland was subjected to).

Steibruch though has nothing to do with patriotism or the idealization of Swiss conditions. On the contrary, it shows the darker sides of society including sexual excess, is rich in symbolic messages and compares favorably with American films of the period like The Red House.

Short Synopsis

A man in his fifties returns from America to his native village. Everyone knows that in the New World he served a lengthy prison sentence for manslaughter. He retreats to an isolated quarry in the woods he inherited. There he lives like a hermit, gruffly disencouraging anyone to come near the place. The older villagers know of a terrible secret which surrounds the man's once leaving for America. They see their hopes of having gotten rid of him definitely thwarted (yes folks, that's what America was used for over here up to WW II). They disallow everybody any contact with the man. The village idiot and a young girl are strangely attracted to the place and approach the quarry and the "bogeyman" who supposedly resides there. A dramatic sequence with hauntingly beautiful pictures ensues as the girl tries to flee in panic and gets stuck in precipitous high flank of the quarry. The finale puts right and wrong in the proper place and sums up the story and the revealed secret in a matter-of-fact manner.

The main character is played by Heinrich Gretler, by far the most popular actor of Swiss dialect film. The young girl is Maria Schell, sister of Maximilian Schell, who would go on to have an international career in the movies. Director Sigfrit Steiner was one of the great character actors of Swiss dialect films.