Asphalt (1929)

Asphalt
Directed by Joe Mayand  Rolf E. Van Loo
1929/Germany
UFA
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant

I wonder why it is, that young men are always cautioned against bad girls. Anyone can handle a bad girl. It’s the good girls men should be warned against. – David Niven

This late German silent introduced me to another brunette American temptress, Betty Amann, and was one of my favorite films of its year.

Albert Holk (Gustav Frölich) still lives at home with his proud and doting mother and father. Albert has followed his father’s footsteps and joined the police force.  It his first day on the job.  He spends it mostly directing traffic.  At shift change, he notices a commotion at a nearby jeweller’s shop.  Vamp Else Heller (Amann) has been accused of stealing a loose diamond while distracting the shop owner with flattery and her lovely eyes.  The store employees track her down as she is walking away.  They search her thoroughly but do not find the gem.  But Albert finds it.  The store is willing to treat this as a “no harm” type of incident but Albert is determined to take her in.

Thus begins the amusing seduction of Albert.  But what starts out as a comedy ends as a melodrama.

The acting is great, the editing is innovative, and the cinematography has that German Expressionist lighting that I love so much.  Shows what silent films had achieved as they made way for talkies.

Director May moved to Hollywood when the Nazis took power and continued his career there.

Clip – An attempted seduction