09 June 2020

Kammermusik (1925)

The German silent film drama Kammermusik/My Bachelor Husbands (1925) was a typical Henny Porten vehicle of the 1920s, directed by Carl Froelich and produced by their own company HPF (Henny Porten-Froelich-Produktion). The film was scripted by Robert Liebmann and Walter Supper, based on a play by Heinrich Ilgenstein. Franz Schroedter designed the sets, and the cinematography was by Axel Graatkjaer. Porten's husband, Wilhelm von Kaufmann, was the production manager.

Henny Porten in Kammermusik (1925)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 29/1. Photo: HPF (Henny Porten-Froelich-Produktion). Henny Porten in Kammermusik/My Bachelor Husbands (Carl Froelich, 1925).

Henny Porten in Kammermusik (1925)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 29/2. Photo: HPF (Henny Porten-Froelich-Produktion). Henny Porten in Kammermusik/My Bachelor Husbands (Carl Froelich, 1925).

Married to a talented but very difficult artist


In Kammermusik/My Bachelor Husbands or Chamber Music (Carl Froelich, 1925), Cesare von Niemeyer (Livio Pavanelli) is a talented but very difficult artist who doubts that he will ever experience his breakthrough as a musician.

Cesare continually accuses his wife, Hilde von Niemeyer (Henny Porten) of being to blame and more than hindering his career with his alleged detention in her bourgeois world. At some point, it is enough for his wife and she finally releases her husband.

Cesare returns to the world of opera and, thanks to his generous patron, Herzogin von Siebenstein (Ida Wüst), he celebrates a great success. It doesn't take long before the powerful aristocrat falls in love with the artist.

Frau von Niemeyer, however, has followed her husband and has caught the attention of the young crown prince Bernhard (Harry Halm), a nephew of Herzogin von Siebenstein. Cesare soon disapproves of this, and he realises that the comfort of his wife's home is not as narrow-minded and petty-bourgeois as he previously thought. Cesare and Hilde return home as a couple.

Kammermusik/My Bachelor Husbands (Carl Froelich, 1925) was created in the winter of 1924/1925, passed film censorship on 14 March 1925 and premiered on 19 March 1925 as part of a press screening in the Berlin Primus Palast cinema. The public premiere was on 24 March 1925. Supporting actors in Kammermusik were Ferdinand von Alten (Hofintendant), Jacob Tiedtke (Hilde's father), and Helmut Henkel (Hilde's son).

Henny Porten, Ferdinand von Alten and Livio Pavanelli in Kammermusik (1925)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 29/3. Photo: HPF (Henny Porten-Froelich-Produktion). Henny Porten, Ferdinand von Alten and Livio Pavanelli in Kammermusik/My Bachelor Husbands (Carl Froelich, 1925).

Henny Porten in Kammermusik (1925)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 29/4. Photo: HPF (Henny Porten-Froelich-Produktion). Henny Porten in Kammermusik/My Bachelor Husbands (Carl Froelich, 1925).

Sources: Wikipedia (English and German), and IMDb.

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