A film you could so easily lose yourself in,
direction was by Paul Czinner and his meticulous
attention to the beautiful landscape of St. Moritz
and the urban street scenes and home life makes
you feel as though you are really there. Adding to
that is the exquisite ethereal Elisabeth Bergner as
Elsie - even though by 1929 she was 30, she really
looked and acted like a child of 14. With a plot line
similar to "Effie Briest" Bergner's Elsie is having a
blissful time just being alive and excited about
holidaying in St. Moritz with her cousin Paul and
his family. While her parents are lavish with their
spending, her father has been speculating heavily
on the stock exchange and with Elsie sending letters
in rapture of new experiences she happens to mention meeting a business associate of her
father's. Her father is ruined and is facing time in
prison, he has had a collapse so her mother writes
to her begging her to do everything she can to get
the funds needed from this associate so her father
won't have to face prison.
It's obvious to the viewer that the associate wants a relationship with the child. There are two amazing sequences - the first, a tracking shot as Von Dorsday walks through the casino, Elsie just keeping her distance initially hesitant then eager, lastly realising she doesn't have the confidence to ask. The next one
Albert Bassermann plays the father superbly. Sixty by the time "Fraulein Elsie" was made, he later fled to America when he couldn't tolerate the way his wife (who was Jewish) was treated and then was nominated for a Best Supporting Academy Award for his role in "Foreign Correspondent" at age 70.
It's obvious to the viewer that the associate wants a relationship with the child. There are two amazing sequences - the first, a tracking shot as Von Dorsday walks through the casino, Elsie just keeping her distance initially hesitant then eager, lastly realising she doesn't have the confidence to ask. The next one
- when she talks to Von Dorsday all you have to do
Albert Bassermann plays the father superbly. Sixty by the time "Fraulein Elsie" was made, he later fled to America when he couldn't tolerate the way his wife (who was Jewish) was treated and then was nominated for a Best Supporting Academy Award for his role in "Foreign Correspondent" at age 70.