Mother Krause's Journey to Happiness
| Mother Krause's Journey to Happiness | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Phil Jutzi |
| Written by |
Willy Döll Jan Fethke |
| Starring |
Alexandra Schmitt Holmes Zimmermann Ilse Trautschold Gerhard Bienert Vera Sacharowa Friedrich Gnaß Fee Wachsmuth |
Release dates |
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| Country | Weimar Republic |
| Language |
Silent German intertitles |
Mother Krause's Journey to Happiness (German:Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück) is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Phil Jutzi and starring Alexandra Schmitt, Holmes Zimmermann and Ilse Trautschold. The film was produced by the left-wing Prometheus Film, a German subsidiary of the Soviet company Mezhrabpom-Film. It depicts the cruelty of poverty and depicts Communism as a rescuing force that, alas, reaches Mutter Krause and the child that lives in Krause's apartment too late.
Plot
Mutter Krause, her daughter Erna and her son Paul live in a tenement in the poorer section of Berlin's Wedding district. Along with them lives "the Tenant", his soon-to-be bride Friede, who works as a prostitute, and her child whose name isn't revealed in the film. Mutter Krause is a quiet, long-suffering old woman who earns what little she can delivering newspapers. However, Paul is an alcoholic and spends all her money on drink. Mutter Krause can't pay back the money she owes the man whose newspapers she delivered and he accuses her of stealing and threatens her with arrest. Mutter Krause must then pawn her last valuable possession, a treasured memento of her late husband. Paul then breaks into the same pawn shop. He gets away but is later arrested. Meanwhile, Erna begins dating a young man with Communist views, who turns Erna to Communism and also helps her earn the money her mother needs by more honest means. At the last minute, she meets a man who can help her with her family's financial troubles. However, Mutter Krause doesn't know about this, and while Erna and Max are at a political rally, Mutter Krause turns on the gas in the apartment and kills herself along with Friede's child.
Notes
The scene near the end depicting the political rally glorifies the marching forms of the Communist rally-goers.
The original German intertitles are written in the Berliner dialect, lending an authentic feel to the dialogue.[1]