Das Spielzeug von Paris
Encyclopedia
Das Spielzeug von Paris (English title Red Heels) is an Austria
n silent film
released in 1925
and directed by Michael Curtiz
. It was the first film to feature French actress Lili Damita
in the leading role.
(Eric Barclay), who lives in Paris, marries a stage dancer (Lili Damita
). He persuades her to give up her stage career, and they take a cottage in the country. She accepts an invitation from her former manager (Georges Treville) to attend a party. She performs a dance at the party. She quarrels with her husband, but starts searching for him in the countryside on a stormy night. As a result, she catches pneumonia and nearly dies. After being nursed back to health by her husband, she decides to give up the stage for good.
, Das Spielzeug von Paris was filmed largely in Paris by the Austrian company Sascha-Film
with the help of finance from the German FPS and the British Stoll film companies.
's sets in particular were highly praised by film reviewers. The film was universally regarded as a success. Sascha-Film made two more films with the same team. Samuel Goldwyn
invited Lili Damita
to Hollywood after watching this film.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
released in 1925
1925 in film
-Events:*November 5: The Big Parade holds its Grand Premier*December 30: premier of Ben-Hur the most expensive silent film ever made costing 4-6 million dollars -Top grossing films :...
and directed by Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
. It was the first film to feature French actress Lili Damita
Lili Damita
Lili Damita was a French actress who appeared in 33 movies between 1922 and 1937.-Early life and education:...
in the leading role.
Plot
A young British BohemianBohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
(Eric Barclay), who lives in Paris, marries a stage dancer (Lili Damita
Lili Damita
Lili Damita was a French actress who appeared in 33 movies between 1922 and 1937.-Early life and education:...
). He persuades her to give up her stage career, and they take a cottage in the country. She accepts an invitation from her former manager (Georges Treville) to attend a party. She performs a dance at the party. She quarrels with her husband, but starts searching for him in the countryside on a stormy night. As a result, she catches pneumonia and nearly dies. After being nursed back to health by her husband, she decides to give up the stage for good.
Cast
- Lili DamitaLili DamitaLili Damita was a French actress who appeared in 33 movies between 1922 and 1937.-Early life and education:...
- Hugo ThimigHugo ThimigHugo August Thimig , although born in Germany, spent his working life in Austria as an actor, director, and director of the Burgtheater in Vienna.-Biography:...
- Eric Barclay
- Georges Tréville
- Theo Shall
- Hans MoserHans Moser (actor)Hans Moser was an Austrian actor who, during his long career, from the 1920s up to his death, mainly played in comedy films. He was particularly associated with the genre of the Wiener Film...
- Marietta Millner
Production
Based on the novel Red Heels by Margery LawrenceMargery Lawrence
Margery Lawrence was an English Fantasy fiction, Horror fiction and detective fiction author who specialized in ghost stories....
, Das Spielzeug von Paris was filmed largely in Paris by the Austrian company Sascha-Film
Sascha-Film
Sascha-Film, in full Sascha-Filmindustrie AG and from 1933 Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie AG, was the largest Austrian film production company of the silent film and early sound film period.-History:...
with the help of finance from the German FPS and the British Stoll film companies.
Critical response
The film was well received by the film magazines of the time, although sometimes the storyline was criticised for being kitsch. Artur BergerArtur Berger
Artur Semyonovich Berger was an Austrian-Soviet film architect and set designer. He was active in Austria between 1920 and 1936, during which time he worked on about 30 feature films...
's sets in particular were highly praised by film reviewers. The film was universally regarded as a success. Sascha-Film made two more films with the same team. Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
invited Lili Damita
Lili Damita
Lili Damita was a French actress who appeared in 33 movies between 1922 and 1937.-Early life and education:...
to Hollywood after watching this film.
Availability
Some copies of the film still exist, the most complete having Spanish intertitles. An advertising trailer also exists.Soundtrack
The original score of the film is considered lost. In 2009, Austrian musician Florian C. Reithner composed and recorded a new score in which he plays the original "Welte - Kinoorgel" (a cinema organ by German organ manufacturer "Welte") at "Filmmuseum Potsdam", Germany. The new music was first brought to audience in a broadcast by French television channel "France 3" in Winter 2009.External links
- Das Spielzeug von Paris at Filmarchiv Austria