"Liebelei." At the Academy Cinema
SCHNITZLER'S romantic tragedy is set in pre-War Vienna. Music plays in the cafés ; a sledge goes jingling through the snowy forest ; smart young officers click their heels together in salute. One of them, after an affair with the Baroness Eggersdorf, falls in love with a charming girl, Christine, the daughter of a 'cellist in the opera orchestra. But the Baron hears rumours, gets evidence of the old affair, demands satisfaction, and a disastrous duel follows.
A simple story, but a powerful one, particularly towards the end, when the conflict of army etiquette with human feeling reaches its fatal climax. This German talkie version —shown with English captions—has been directed by Max Ophfils with rare skill and economy ; the military atmosphere and the old Viennese settings are unusually effective. At times the dialogue carries more shades of feeling than can be rendered in the captions, but Liebelei is nevertheless a picture that fully deserves to be introduced to English audiences. Its gradual blending of tragedy with gaiety is particularly impressive.
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