Mania. Die Geschichte einer Zigarettenarbeiterin, 1918, Germany, German intertitles, English Subtitles (85’); WITH LIVE MUSIC ACCOMPANIMENT: CZERWIE BAND. Introduction by Elżbieta Wysocka (Polish National Film Archive). Screening: 09.06, 20.30, Toldi Cinema, Nagyterem.

The title Mania does not refer to a mental illness: Mania, played by Pola Negri, was the name of the cigarette girl torn between men. She falls in love with the composer Hans van den Hof. Morelli, patron of the arts, will only present the composer’s work if Mania gives herself to him: in other words, this melodrama draws deeply on Puccini’s Tosca. This was the first time on film that a prop pistol switched for a real one went off in the hands of the actors. The director, Debrecen-born Jenő (Eugen) Illés working for UFA in Berlin, later collaborated with another famous vamp, Asta Nielsen.

Directed by: Eugen Illés (Illés Jenő)
Written by: Hans Brennert
Director of photography: Eugen Illés (Illés Jenő)
Music by: ith live musical accompaniment of Czerwie Band, Poland
Cast: Pola Negri, Arthur Schröder, Ernst Wendt, Werner Hollmann
Genre: drama
Production: Projektions-AG Union
Format: black and white, silent, 1.33: 1

Silent movie with live music accompaniment: Czerwie Band. Introduction by Elzbieta Wysocka (Polish National Film Archive).

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