Warwick Ward

Quote:
Circus and variety films were a popular genre in the silent film era. This was Robert Reinert’s last film collaboration; he died before the production was finished. It tells the story of a clown who hides his identity while courting a young female artist. The atmospheric sets by Robert Herlth and Walter Röhrig, the masterful direction by Arthur Robison, and especially the dramatic performance by Werner Krauss raise the film considerably over other works in the genre. The elaborate digital restoration by the Munich Film Museum displays the film’s visual beauty.Read More »

Imdb:
Extraordinary Soap Opera
12 August 2009 | by GManfred (Ramsey, NJ)

I am not a fan of Soaps. Too often they are predictable and boring and descend into bathos -‘Womens’ Pictures’. But this picture was so spectacular in all respects that I was taken aback by its sheer accomplishment. Critic Kenneth Tynan said that one must ‘suspend one’s disbelief’ to take part in the movie experience. If that is the case, this picture became real; it was not a play on the screen performed by mere actors.

The story is familiar but the production is not. Direction is skillful and the photography is perfect. The picture moves quickly and the acting is superb. Francis Lederer was good, Brigitte Helm was even better, and Warwick Ward, who plays Col. Beranoff, spit and polish and bent on revenge, was outstanding. He was the glue that held the cast together and was a riveting presence whenever he was on screen.Read More »