ASPHALT (1929)Albert Steinrück, Else Heller & Gustav Fröhlich | Crime | B&W | Old Hollywood

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Asphalt is a 1929 German silent film directed by Joe May. The film stars Gustav Fröhlich and Betty Amann and is about a young woman in Berlin who is driven into poverty and steals a valuable piece of jewelry. She is caught by a police officer which leads to the woman to attempt to seduce him into letting her go. The film was shot between October and December 1928 at UFA.

Synopsis

In Berlin, a young woman named Else is a gorgeous trickster. Her high fashion clothes and perfectly ornamented makeup make her deserving to be peering over diamond cases while batting her eyes in want at the jeweler. She is caught lying and after professing it was the first time, that she needed the money. Even when she meets Albert, she insists her luxurious apartment and belongings are not hers. She maintains her story until she flings herself into his arms and confesses to him, "I like you."

Else thinks about Albert and as she smiles for the first time when she finds the passport photo of Albert in her apartment. Gazing at the photo she smiles comparing him to her criminal, older, and uglier boyfriend in a photo beside her. She stares and smiles at his picture again in the nightclub, when she becomes compelled to return his passport and give him a gift of cigars, a scene that results in a confession of love from both Else and Albert.

Albert is then at Else's feet, begging her to be his wife, that she can no longer stand the differences between them. He looks up at her in her white elegant dress and she runs away. She breaks away and exposes all her stolen goods from her criminal past. As he considers his fate, her criminal boyfriend enters the scene and a brawl ensues. The boyfriend is killed accidentally, and after struggling with his decision, Albert leaves the scene. In confession to his parents, Albert's father deems that the law is the law, and he must turn himself in. When Else discovers he has done so, she knows what she must do. Else voluntarily turns herself into the police. Else is able to smile once again as Albert follows her and professes he will wait for her. Albert watches Else through a barred doorway as she goes off to jail.

Cast & Crew

Betty Amann as Else Kramer
Albert Steinrück as Hauptwachtmeister Holk
Else Heller as Frau Holk
Gustav Fröhlich as Wachtmeister Albert Holk
Betty Amann as Else Kramer
Hans Adalbert Schlettow as Konsul Langen
Rosa Valetti as Frau an der Theke
Kurt Vespermann as Curt Vesperman
Hans Albers as the first thief

Directed by: Joe May
Screenplay by: Joe May, Hans Székely, Rolf E. Vanloo
Produced by: Max Pfeiffer, Erich Pommer
Cinematography: Günther Rittau
Production Company: Universum-Film AG
Distributed by: UFA-Filmverleih GmbH
Release Date: March 11, 1929 (Berlin)
Running Time: 85 minutes
Country: Germany