Lya Mara was the star and her partner Friedrich a.k.a. Frederic Zelnik the director of the German silent film Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (1924), situated in the France of the present time and then at the time of Louis XV, in the 18th century. The film was produced by their own company, Zelnik-Mara Film. Ross Verlag published a wonderful series of postcards for the film, focusing on Mara as Madame de Pompadour.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 914/2, 1925-1926. Photo: Phoebus Film / Zelnik-Mara Film. Lya Mara in Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 914/3, 1925-1926. Photo: Phoebus Film / Zelnik-Mara Film. Lya Mara in Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924).
Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924) takes place on two levels of time. Th film is first situated in the France of the present time and then at the time of Louis XV, in the 18th century.
Lya Mara plays Lucienne, a young, dynamic woman who, although she loves the chief engineer (Alphons Fryland) of her uncle Abel Fernay's (Alwin Neuss) car manufacturing, is to be forced to marry an unloved man, a noble corporal (Hans Albers).
Fernay expects from this private connection primarily business synergy effects. To distract herself from the upcoming, unwanted wedding, Lucienne begins to browse through a novel written by her deceased father.
The novel is set in the 18th century and is about the love of the handsome Lieutenant André de Rohan (again, Alphons Fryland) for the cold-hearted Marquise de Pompadour (again, Lya Mara).
After she has finished the book and realises parallels to her own life, Lucienne now decides to resist the marriage wish of the family. Finally, the equally powerful and wealthy leader of the family Abel Fernay surrenders and approves of Lucienne's decision to marry the engineer.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 914/4, 1925-1926. Photo: Phoebus Film / Zelnik-Mara Film. Lya Mara in Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 914/5, 1925-1926. Photo: Phoebus Film / Zelnik-Mara Film. Lya Mara in Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924).
Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924) was scripted by René Ferry and Alfred Halm. Cinematographers were Edoardo Lamberti and Georg Muschner, while sets were by Willi A. Hermann. The film premiered at the Berlin Mozartsaal cinema on 25 September 1924.
When the film ran in Austria in 1925, Vienna's Neue Freie Presse reported: "An amiable story, presented in a charming, graceful manner, and played by quite famous actors.
Lya Mara (...) shows herself at a culmination of her art, flattering herself by grace and roguery into the hearts of the audience.
A real showpiece is the performance of the great character actress Frida Richard as a kind, wise grandmother of the heroine of the modern part.
Lya Mara's partner in both parts is Alphons Fryland: as always a handsome, passionate, noble, dashing, youthful lover comme il faut. Very good is Georges Vaultier as Louis XV. (...)
Friedrich Zelnik's direction deserves this time unrestricted recognition. The photography is also quite successful."
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 914/6, 1925-1926. Photo: Phoebus Film / Zelnik-Mara Film. Lya Mara in Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924).
Sources: Wikipedia (English and German) and IMDb.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 914/2, 1925-1926. Photo: Phoebus Film / Zelnik-Mara Film. Lya Mara in Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 914/3, 1925-1926. Photo: Phoebus Film / Zelnik-Mara Film. Lya Mara in Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924).
Parallels to her own life
Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924) takes place on two levels of time. Th film is first situated in the France of the present time and then at the time of Louis XV, in the 18th century.
Lya Mara plays Lucienne, a young, dynamic woman who, although she loves the chief engineer (Alphons Fryland) of her uncle Abel Fernay's (Alwin Neuss) car manufacturing, is to be forced to marry an unloved man, a noble corporal (Hans Albers).
Fernay expects from this private connection primarily business synergy effects. To distract herself from the upcoming, unwanted wedding, Lucienne begins to browse through a novel written by her deceased father.
The novel is set in the 18th century and is about the love of the handsome Lieutenant André de Rohan (again, Alphons Fryland) for the cold-hearted Marquise de Pompadour (again, Lya Mara).
After she has finished the book and realises parallels to her own life, Lucienne now decides to resist the marriage wish of the family. Finally, the equally powerful and wealthy leader of the family Abel Fernay surrenders and approves of Lucienne's decision to marry the engineer.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 914/4, 1925-1926. Photo: Phoebus Film / Zelnik-Mara Film. Lya Mara in Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 914/5, 1925-1926. Photo: Phoebus Film / Zelnik-Mara Film. Lya Mara in Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924).
Flattering herself by grace and roguery into the hearts of the audience
Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924) was scripted by René Ferry and Alfred Halm. Cinematographers were Edoardo Lamberti and Georg Muschner, while sets were by Willi A. Hermann. The film premiered at the Berlin Mozartsaal cinema on 25 September 1924.
When the film ran in Austria in 1925, Vienna's Neue Freie Presse reported: "An amiable story, presented in a charming, graceful manner, and played by quite famous actors.
Lya Mara (...) shows herself at a culmination of her art, flattering herself by grace and roguery into the hearts of the audience.
A real showpiece is the performance of the great character actress Frida Richard as a kind, wise grandmother of the heroine of the modern part.
Lya Mara's partner in both parts is Alphons Fryland: as always a handsome, passionate, noble, dashing, youthful lover comme il faut. Very good is Georges Vaultier as Louis XV. (...)
Friedrich Zelnik's direction deserves this time unrestricted recognition. The photography is also quite successful."
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 914/6, 1925-1926. Photo: Phoebus Film / Zelnik-Mara Film. Lya Mara in Auf Befehl der Pompadour/By Order of Pompadour (Friedrich Zelnik, 1924).
Sources: Wikipedia (English and German) and IMDb.
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