Backstairs (1921)
Directors:
Leopold Jessner, Paul LeniWriter:
Carl MayerStars:
Henny Porten, Fritz Kortner, William Dieterle
The German silent film Backstairs falls between the two schools of Expressionism and Naturalism. The story anticipates the more famous A Joyless Street by linking the disintegration of a family with the humiliations of slum life. Noted German stage and film star Fritz Kortner plays the central character, while appearing in support is future director Wilhelm (William) Dieterle.
