Die Yacht der sieben Sünden

The cruise ship Yoshiwara is preparing to set sail on a long voyage. They are hiring acts to perform for the passengers. The agent booking the acts, Alfred Gerasch, is shot in the presence of John Stuart, who flees. As the police investigate, they concentrate on the performers: Rina Marsa, who wants out of her contract; Brigitte Helm, who wants a contract; somehow, they ignore Hugo Werner-Kahle, who has been blackmailing people.

The copy of this movie that survives is in very good condition, although it is missing the last act in which the various plot threads are tied up. Happily, it was also serialized in a magazine, and the solution is summarized at the end. Even so, it is an oddly formed 72 minutes. More than fifty of those are spent on shore, and when we get on board, we see only gluttony, lust and drunkenness.

What survive is a louche story of power, corruption, and murder, featuring the always interesting Fraulein Helm, and a young John Stuart. Stuart's career stretched many years, playing age-appropriate roles until shortly before his death in 1979 at the age of 81. Fraulein Helm married very well and retired in 1935. She died in 1996, aged 90.