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The Other Side

Retrospective 2018

Source: Deutsche Kinemathek, © morisel Verlag

Spring 1918 in a British officer’s dugout on the western front. Young, inexperienced lieutenant Raleigh discovers that his sister’s fiancé, Captain Stanhope, is now his company commander. Although the horrors of war have turned the latter into a heavy drinker, he is still a conscientious soldier. He is ready to hold the lines before the expected German offensive until the bitter end, sacrificing himself and his men as necessary. But it is only with reluctance that he follows orders to send Raleigh and his companions on a reconnaissance mission that will almost certainly end in death ... There are virtually no battle scenes in this film version of the English play; it is rather more an “intimate drama in the trenches”. Instead it presents a searing and realistic portrayal of the attritional effects of trench warfare, focusing on people who are “trying to do their duty amidst agony and confusion” (opening title). Although Nazi propaganda leader Joseph Goebbels praised it in 1931, saying it was “a good film. Without sentimentality. War as an inner experience”, it was banned in 1933 for its “subversive influence on the people’s willingness to defend themselves”.

by Heinz Paul
with Conrad Veidt, Theodor Loos, Friedrich Ettel, Viktor de Kowa, Wolfgang Liebeneiner, Paul Otto, Jack Mylong-Münz, Reinhold Bernt, Willy Trenk-Trebitsch Germany 1931 German 100’ Black/White Rating R12

With

Conrad Veidt
Theodor Loos
Friedrich Ettel
Viktor de Kowa
Wolfgang Liebeneiner
Paul Otto
Jack Mylong-Münz
Reinhold Bernt
Willy Trenk-Trebitsch

Crew

Director	Heinz Paul
Screenplay	Hans Reisiger based on the novel and play “Journey’s End“ 1928) von/by R. C. Sherriff
Cinematography	Viktor Gluck
Camera Assistant	Wolfgang Hofmann
Editing	Max Brenner
Music	Ernst-Erich Buder
Sound	Karl Brodmerkel, Karl-Erich Kroschke
Set Construction	Robert A. Dietrich
Costumes	Willi Ernst
Make-Up	Willy Wollschläger
Producer	Joseph Candolini

Produced by

Cando-Film GmbH

Additional information

Film Print: Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin

Heinz Paul

Filmography

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2018