M (Nero-Film AG, 1931), Mädchen in Uniform (National Distributors, 19...

Description

M (Nero-Film AG, 1931), Mädchen in Uniform (National Distributors, 1931, UK), The Blue Danube (An der schönen blauen Donau) (Graham-Wilcox Prod., 1926), The White Devil (Der weiße Teufel) (UFA-Wardour Films, 1930), and Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty (Olympia 2. Teil - Fest der Schönheit) (UFA, 1938) Photo Lobby Cards and Studio Release Photographs (25+). Vintage gelatin silver glossy double-weight 11" x 9" (1) (trimmed from 12" x 9.25") German country of original key art photo lobby card of Inge Landgut as "Elsie Beckman" in M (dir. Fritz Lang, with number 20 in India ink on the negative, 27 JUN 1932 later use stamp and editorial annotation in masking ink on the recto, grease pencil and ink, and later use newspaper clipping on the verso, glossy double-weight 11.75" x 9.5" (5) gallery photographs of Hertha Thiele as "Manuela von Meinhardis", Hedwig Schlichter as "Frl. von Kesten", Ellen Schwannecke as "Ilse von Westhagen", and two schoolgirls in Mädchen in Uniform, printed in Germany, with print set numbers 33, 38, 46, 103, and 112 in India ink on the negative, and National Distributors paper caption on the verso, glossy double-weight 9.25" x 12" (4) studio release photographs of Lya Mara and Harry Liedtke in The Blue Danube (An der schönen blauen Donau), with paper caption on the verso, glossy double-weight 9.25" x 11.75" (6) and 8.25" x 10" (6) photo lobby cards of Ivan Mozzhukhin, Lil Dagover, and Betty Amann (Peter Lorre film debut, reputed) in The White Devil (Der weiße Teufel), studio wet stamp and paper caption on the verso, glossy borderless double-weight 8.5" x 11" (4) and 8" x 10" (1) gallery photographs of Konrad Frey, Marjorie Gestring, and Cornelius Johnson in Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty (Olympia 2. Teil - Fest der Schönheit) (dir. Leni Riefenstahl), with print set numbers T66, T114, T285, and T351 in India ink on the negative, PHOTO: TOBIS-OLYMPIA and MADE IN GERMANY wet stamps, and paper caption on the verso. Good/Very Good to Fine/Very Fine, with corner crease (1), missing corner tip (1), light soiling at the margins (1), pinholes at the margins and corner tips (2). Comes with a COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: This evocative image depicts Elsie Beckmann, the innocent child whose disappearance at the hands of Peter Lorre's child murderer sets in motion Lang's chilling narrative. M is regarded as one of the greatest films of the Weimar era, an essential early sound picture that fused Expressionist imagery with documentary realism to explore themes of crime, justice, and mob hysteria. Lang's use of sound, most memorably Lorre's whistled leitmotif, was revolutionary, and the film's depiction of a society confronting its own capacity for violence proved uncannily prophetic of Germany's looming descent into authoritarianism. Photo lobby cards from the film's original German release are exceptionally scarce, making this surviving example of Elsie Beckmann's tragic introduction a culturally resonant artifact from one of cinema's most influential works.

One of the most remarkable films of the Weimar period, Mädchen in Uniform is widely recognized as the first feature-length film to portray lesbian desire with candor and empathy. Directed by Leontine Sagan and scripted by Christa Winsloe from her play Gestern und Heute, the film unfolds in a strict Prussian boarding school for girls, where Manuela's passionate attachment to her teacher leads to tragedy amid an atmosphere of repression. Beyond its groundbreaking representation of same-sex love, the film was also a pointed critique of authoritarian discipline and militaristic values, making it politically resonant on the eve of Nazi power. Celebrated for its all-female cast and its lyrical camerawork, Mädchen in Uniform has been reclaimed as a landmark of queer cinema and feminist film history. Original German gallery photographs of the principal cast are exceptionally scarce, making this group of five evocative portraits a rare and important surviving record of a production whose cultural impact has only deepened with time.

Commissioned by the Nazi regime to document the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, Riefenstahl's Olympia (released in two parts: Festival of Nations and Festival of Beauty) is simultaneously celebrated as a landmark of film aesthetics and condemned as an instrument of fascist propaganda. Festival of Beauty is particularly noted for its lyrical sequences emphasizing the athletic body as an object of idealized form, blending classical imagery with modern sports. These photographs capture athletes who exemplify both the achievements and contradictions of the Games: German gymnast Konrad Frey, one of the most decorated athletes of 1936; American diver Marjorie Gestring, then just 13 years old and the youngest gold medalist in Olympic history; and African American high jumper Cornelius Johnson, whose victory stood as a powerful counterpoint to Nazi racial ideology. Gallery prints from Olympia remain historically and culturally resonant: they reflect the film's lasting influence on sports cinematography and visual culture, while embodying the troubling entanglement of artistic innovation with political propaganda.


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