Fern Andra (1893-1974) was one of the most popular film stars of the German cinema in the 1910s and early 1920s. In her films, she mastered tightrope walking, riding a horse without a saddle, driving cars and motorcycles, bob sleighing, and even boxing. In her own production Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (1919), Andra makes a spectacular death leap with her circus horse.
![Fern Andra in Der Todessprung (1919)]()
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 576. Photo: Fern-Andra-Atelier. Fern Andra and Josef Peterhans in Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (Georg Bluen, Fern Andra, 1919).
![Fern Andra in Der Todessprung]()
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 577. Photo: Fern-Andra-Atelier. Fern Andra, probably Olga Engl and Wilhelm Diegelmann in Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (Georg Bluen, Fern Andra, 1919).
The circus melodrama Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (Georg Bluen, Fern Andra, 1919) is based on a novel by Jean Kolzer. Fern Andra plays a circus rider who is an artist with heart and soul. One day she meets Count von Wallenberg (Josef Peterhans) and both fall in love with each other. When he has risen to become a major, Egon asks for her hand. She accepts his proposal and they marry.
The joyful, free-spirited circus rider, embarrassed by no open word, soon becomes the object of snobbery among her husband's friends and a thorn in the side of the lordly mother-in-law, the old countess (Olga Engl). The old woman begins to intrigue against her.
Soon her intrigues succeed. When Count von Wallenberg gets into a duel to defend his honour, he is imprisoned for six months. His mother and his old girl friend take this opportunity to set his wife packing. The young woman returns to the circus and resumes her old job. Back home, Egon is deeply saddened that his wife has left him. His mother, who once gave the cause to break the two, then decides to bring Egon and his circus princess together again.
Fern Andra co-directed and produced Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (1919). In January 1919, the film premiered at the Marmorhaus, one of the most prestigious movie palaces in Berlin.
Bob Lipton at IMDb: "It's an old story told in old-fashioned cinematic technique and, except for the circus scenes - Germans were very fond of movies involving circus people - this is a vehicle for Miss Andra to suffer in. She had been born in Illinois in 1893. Her entrance into show business was as a circus aerialist. While touring in Europe, she became a student of Max Reinhardt and soon went into the movies. With the outbreak of the First World War, she was suspected as a spy. She allayed these fears by marrying her first husband, a German baron who was killed during the War; this gave her a fine cover to spy for the Allies."
![Fern Andra in Der Todessprung (Um Krone und Peitsche)]()
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 578. Photo: Fern-Andra-Atelier. Fern Andra in Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (Georg Bluen, Fern Andra, 1919).
![Fern Andra in Der Todessprung (1919)]()
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 579. Photo: Fern-Andra-Atelier. Fern Andra and Josef Peterhans in Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (Georg Bluen, Fern Andra, 1919).
![Fern Andra in Der Todessprung (1919)]()
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 580. Photo: Fern-Andra-Atelier. Fern Andra in Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (Georg Bluen, Fern Andra, 1919).
Sources: Wikipedia (English and German), and IMDb.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 576. Photo: Fern-Andra-Atelier. Fern Andra and Josef Peterhans in Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (Georg Bluen, Fern Andra, 1919).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 577. Photo: Fern-Andra-Atelier. Fern Andra, probably Olga Engl and Wilhelm Diegelmann in Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (Georg Bluen, Fern Andra, 1919).
A Free-spirited Circus Princess
The circus melodrama Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (Georg Bluen, Fern Andra, 1919) is based on a novel by Jean Kolzer. Fern Andra plays a circus rider who is an artist with heart and soul. One day she meets Count von Wallenberg (Josef Peterhans) and both fall in love with each other. When he has risen to become a major, Egon asks for her hand. She accepts his proposal and they marry.
The joyful, free-spirited circus rider, embarrassed by no open word, soon becomes the object of snobbery among her husband's friends and a thorn in the side of the lordly mother-in-law, the old countess (Olga Engl). The old woman begins to intrigue against her.
Soon her intrigues succeed. When Count von Wallenberg gets into a duel to defend his honour, he is imprisoned for six months. His mother and his old girl friend take this opportunity to set his wife packing. The young woman returns to the circus and resumes her old job. Back home, Egon is deeply saddened that his wife has left him. His mother, who once gave the cause to break the two, then decides to bring Egon and his circus princess together again.
Fern Andra co-directed and produced Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (1919). In January 1919, the film premiered at the Marmorhaus, one of the most prestigious movie palaces in Berlin.
Bob Lipton at IMDb: "It's an old story told in old-fashioned cinematic technique and, except for the circus scenes - Germans were very fond of movies involving circus people - this is a vehicle for Miss Andra to suffer in. She had been born in Illinois in 1893. Her entrance into show business was as a circus aerialist. While touring in Europe, she became a student of Max Reinhardt and soon went into the movies. With the outbreak of the First World War, she was suspected as a spy. She allayed these fears by marrying her first husband, a German baron who was killed during the War; this gave her a fine cover to spy for the Allies."
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 578. Photo: Fern-Andra-Atelier. Fern Andra in Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (Georg Bluen, Fern Andra, 1919).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 579. Photo: Fern-Andra-Atelier. Fern Andra and Josef Peterhans in Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (Georg Bluen, Fern Andra, 1919).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 580. Photo: Fern-Andra-Atelier. Fern Andra in Der Todessprung/Um Krone und Peitsche/Crown and Whip (Georg Bluen, Fern Andra, 1919).
Sources: Wikipedia (English and German), and IMDb.