Eight hundred German filmmakers (cast and crew) fled the Nazis in the 1930s. The film uses voice-overs, archival footage, and film clips to examine Berlin's vital filmmaking in the 1920s; then it follows a producer, directors, composers, editors, writers, and actors to Hollywood: some succeeded and many found no work. Among those profiled are Erich Pommer, Joseph May, Ernst Lubitsch, Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, and Peter Lorre. Once in Hollywood, these exiles helped each other, housed new arrivals, and raised money so others could escape. Some worked on anti-Nazi films, like Casablanca. The themes and lighting of German Expressionism gave rise in Hollywood to film noir.
Direction
Karen Thomas weaves archival gold into coherent tragedy.
Writing
Narration that respects your intelligence without drowning in academia.
Director
Karen Thomas
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'émigré network' was shockingly organized—exiles literally kept lists of who needed jobs and housing, functioning as an underground railroad for talent.
Sigourney Weaver recorded her narration in a single day and reportedly cried in the booth during the Lorre segments.
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