DIE UNEHELICHEN (1926) · STUMMFILM + MUSIK | Black Box im Filmmuseum Düsseldorf

In the organizer's words:

THE ILLEGITIMATE (1926) - SILENT MOVIE + MUSIC

D 1926 - 95 min - digitalDCP - ab 18 R: Gerhard Lamprecht - B: Luise Heilborn-Körbitz, Gerhard Lamprecht C: Karl Hasselmann - D: Ralph Ludwig, Fee Wachsmuth, Margot Misch, Alfred Großer, Hermine Sterler a.o.

DIE UNEHELICHEN tells the story of three working-class children, Peter, Lotte and Frieda, who grow up in a loveless foster family. Violence, neglect and emotional coldness determine their everyday lives. When the foster father kills the children's beloved rabbit and chases them out into the rain, Lotte falls seriously ill. Because no doctor is called, the girl dies. To save the siblings from further suffering, Peter states on the death certificate that Lotte had starved to death - a desperate act that prompts the authorities to withdraw custody from the foster parents. But does this intervention really open up the prospect of a better life? As the film progresses, the children are re-homed and experience forms of care and stability for the first time. The film deliberately develops its plot not as an individual melodrama, but as an exemplary narrative about structural injustice. The focus is less on personal failure than on a system that keeps illegitimate children and their mothers dependent and unprotected. Institutions such as welfare authorities, care relationships and legal regulations become visible as decisive factors that shape or limit life paths. DIE UNEHELICHEN thus belongs to the socially committed movement in German cinema of the 1920s, which turned its attention to contemporary everyday realities. The sober staging and precise depiction of the milieu underline the claim to make social conditions visible. The film was already perceived as a contribution to current socio-political debates when it was released. Today, it can be read as an impressive contemporary document that understands cinema as a place of social responsibility.

Otto Maria Krämer (Straelen) accompanies on the historic Welte cinema organ.

In cooperation with the silent film magazine - www.stummfilm-magazin.de

Price information:

Admission 7 Euro - reduced 5 Euro - with Black Box Pass 4 Euro - ticket reservation Tel 0211 - 8992232