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.
Genre: TV Movie, Documentary
Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Marlene Dietrich, Hedy Lamarr, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Billy Wilder
Crew: Karen Thomas (Director), Karen Thomas (Writer)
Country: United States of America
Language: English
Studio: Deutsche Kinemathek für Film und Fernsehen
Runtime: 117 minutes
Quality: HD
Released: Jan 01, 2009
IMDb: 5
