Imaginatively and skilfully directed despite the considerable limitations of the technical side. With only one microphone in use and no subsequent mixing the music - mostly piano played on or off screen by one of the inmates - was recorded at the same time as the dialogue; although the sound editing sometimes wasn't at the same point as the picture, this sometimes resulted in abrupt cuts - really the only technical problem. When shown at the National Film Theatre on April 1 2015 the print quality was excellent and the sound, though the levels were a bit variable, well balanced with good use of perspectives, and mostly very clear.
The acting is good, held suitably in check, and the intercutting between various conversations quite advanced for the time. Unusually for the period, the film opens with an attractive theme song sung over the titles; the tune recurs from time to time as played by one of the inmates.
The films ends with a neat ironic twist to provide the unhappy ending. Bizarrely, the production company (UFA) shot a further scene (without reference to Siodmak) to go on the end, in which some of the minor characters meet a year later and describe a happy ending for the main characters, thus completely undermining the original ironic ending. (The NFT showed this after the film, with an explanatory subtitle.)
The acting is good, held suitably in check, and the intercutting between various conversations quite advanced for the time. Unusually for the period, the film opens with an attractive theme song sung over the titles; the tune recurs from time to time as played by one of the inmates.
The films ends with a neat ironic twist to provide the unhappy ending. Bizarrely, the production company (UFA) shot a further scene (without reference to Siodmak) to go on the end, in which some of the minor characters meet a year later and describe a happy ending for the main characters, thus completely undermining the original ironic ending. (The NFT showed this after the film, with an explanatory subtitle.)