Spring Awakening (1929)
1h 35m
Running Time
January 1, 1929Release Date
Spring Awakening (1929)
1h 35m
Running Time
January 1, 1929Release Date
Plot.
Moritz Stiefel faces expulsion due to poor marks. When he is caught with an essay titled “Shame and Lust”, he is indeed kicked out – instead of classmate Melchior Gabor, who actually penned it. Gabor was drawing on his experiences with neighbourhood girl Wendla. Then Wendla turns up pregnant. Stiefel descends into despair ... Exploitation between Eros and Thanatos in this “sexual tragedy of youth” based on Frank Wedekind’s play. Setting the film in the 1920s provided a chance to explore “modern” youth culture, complete with cigarettes, jazz music, the gramophone, and a goodly bit of alcohol. Richard Oswald, a master of films of manners and young sex beginning in the 1910s, fully explores the temptations of the youthful body, even early childhood flirtatiousness. At the same time, with his target audience in mind, the film laments the bigotry and double standards of the adult world.
Where to Watch.
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Cast & Crew.

Toni van Eyck
Wendla

Ita Rina
Ilse

Carl Ballhaus
Moritz

Rolf von Goth
Melchior Gabor

Paul Henckels
Stiefel

Mathilde Sussin
Mrs. Bergmann

Willy Clever
Fahrendorf

Valy Arnheim
Details.
Release DateJanuary 1, 1929
Original NameFrühlings Erwachen
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 35m
Genres
Last updated:
Wiki.
Spring Awakening (German: Frühlingserwachen) is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Mathilde Sussin, Toni van Eyck and Paul Henckels. It is an adaptation of the play of the same title by Frank Wedekind. It is part of the cycle of Enlightenment films made during the Weimar era.