Auf gefährlichen Spuren

In the 1920s and 1930s, “the man without nerves,” the sensational actor, director, producer and author Harry Piel, was impossible to ignore if you indulged in the pleasures of the movies on a regular basis. Germany’s first action star was also successful far beyond the country’s borders. Today, however, his work is largely unknown, which is due in part to the extremely patchy documentation.
DANGEROUS PATHS marked the beginning of Henrik Galeen’s collaboration with Piel, which by 1931 had comprised a total of five films. The present film offers the opportunity to see screenwriter Galeen in front of the camera as the super-rich American Francis. The journeyman carpenter Harry is bewitched by Francis’s daughter Dorothy, whom he has to rescue from the clutches of dangerous hoodlums. The gang is also trying to steal the crown of a prince. Thus Harry finds himself in a sophisticated adventure that features spectacular nature shots (filmed in the Alps). (fw)

Live-Music: Gerhard Gruber (Piano)
Introduction: Andreas Thein (Filmuseum Düsseldorf)