Der Fürst der Diebe und seine Liebe (1919)

Der Fürst der Diebe und seine Liebe/The King of Thieves and His Love (Viggo Larsen, 1919) was a four-part German film which premiered in Berlin on 4 November 1919. Director and star was Danish actor, director, scriptwriter, and producer Viggo Larsen. The scriptwriter was Hans Hyan, and the photographer Julius Balting. Initially, the state censorship of 1921, completely forbade the film but after cuts, it remained only forbidden for youngsters.



German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 626/1. Photo: Viggo Larsen Tempelhof. Viggo Larsen and Erra Brognar in Der Fürst der Diebe und seine Liebe/The King of Thieves and His Love (Viggo Larsen, 1919).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 626/2. Photo: Viggo Larsen Tempelhof. Viggo Larsen in Der Fürst der Diebe und seine Liebe/The King of Thieves and His Love (Viggo Larsen, 1919).

A terrifying experience

While no content description of the film could be found, it is clear the plot of Der Fürst der Diebe und seine Liebe/The King of Thieves and His Love (Viggo Larsen, 1919) deals with a gentleman criminal, played by Larsen himself.

In 1920, critic Friedrich Sieburg wrote about a terrifying experience he had when viewing this very film when suddenly the musicians stopped playing while the film went on.

"In act 3, as Der Fürst der Diebe was roaring along in his car (his shawl fluttering like a flag, wind blowing briskly through the high grass of the passing landscape), the musicians in the small orchestra - violin and piano for lively scenes, organ for deathly scenes - suddenly decided to break for dinner. The music stopped. Silence. The reels whirred. The light hissed. The action sped ahead. I tell you, it was frightening. I felt as if I was six feet under."


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 626/3. Photo: Viggo Larsen Tempelhof. Viggo Larsen in Der Fürst der Diebe und seine Liebe/The King of Thieves and His Love (Viggo Larsen, 1919). The man behind Larsen must be the actor Franz Verdier.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 626/4. Photo: Viggo Larsen Tempelhof. Viggo Larsen and Erra Brognar in Der Fürst der Diebe und seine Liebe/The King of Thieves and His Love (Viggo Larsen, 1919).


German postcard by Verlag Ross, no. 626/5. Photo: Viggo Larsen, Tempelhof. Viggo Larsen and Erra Brognar in Der Fürst der Diebe und seine Liebe/The King of Thieves and His Love (Viggo Larsen, 1919).

Sources: Anton Kaes / Michael Cowan ed. (The Promise of Cinema: German Film Theory, 1907–1933), The German Early Cinema Database,  and IMDb