The German silent drama Die grosse Pause/The Long Intermission (Carl Froehlich, 1927) was another Henny Porten film, produced by her own production company Henny Porten-Froehlich Produktion GmbH. Fred Hildenbrandt and Walter Supper wrote the screenplay based on a play by Oskar Blumenthal and Max Bernstein. Walter Slezak and Livio Pavanelli were Porten's co-stars.
![Henny Porten in Die grosse Pause (1927)]()
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 79/1. Photo: Henny Porten-Froehlich Produktion GmbH. Henny Porten in Die grosse Pause (Carl Froehlich, 1927).
![Henny Porten in Die grosse Pause (1927)]()
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 79/2. Photo: Henny Porten-Froehlich Produktion GmbH. Henny Porten in Die grosse Pause (Carl Froehlich, 1927).
Henny Porten plays in Die grosse Pause/The Long Intermission (Carl Froehlich, 1927) Gabriele Amberg, a middle-aged violinist. She meets the much younger earl Ottokar Torgstädt (Walter Slezak). He is fascinated by her femininity and art, she by his youth. In addition, she feels flattered to be desired by the handsome nobleman.
So both marry abroad, without Ottokar's class-conscious family at home to hear about it. Count Ottokar does not want to confront Count and Countess Torgstädt with a fait accompli and presents them Gabriele in his native environment as his fiancee, his bride. But to be credible, the couple must first divorce again for that reason.
This 'big break' in marriage leads Gabriele to rethink. She realises that she and her Ottokar do not really fit together, because of the class difference, which raises all sorts of problems. Since Ottokar's cousin, Countess Ina Wildborn (Iwa Wanja), also smothers her ex-husband in an unrestrained way, Gabriele finds that the two, not only generation-wise, fit perfectly together.
So, she operates as a 'Postillon d'amour' and brings both together. Yet, the lucid violinist does not stay alone for long but finds new marriage happiness with her lawyer Boretius (Livio Pavanelli).
The film was shot at the Ufa studios in Tempelhof in May-June 1927 and had its premiere on 9 November 1927. Cinematography was by Axel Graatkjær. Sets were by Frantz Schroeder, costumes by Johanna Marbach.
Paimann's Filmlisten reviewed the film as "The age difference between the two spouses, which forms the basic motif of the subject, has been brought so much to the foreground by the choice of a young partner for Henny Porten, that almost the harmony of the film, which, moreover, has harmless-appealing, rich passages, and continuously well-staged action, suffers from it. Henny Porten is again excellent in general, while mise-en-scene and cinematography are neat."
![Henny Porten in Die grosse Pause]()
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 79/3. Photo: Henny Porten-Froehlich Produktion GmbH. Henny Porten in Die grosse Pause (Carl Froehlich, 1927).
![Henny Porten in Die grosse Pause (1927)]()
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 79/4. Photo: Henny Porten-Froehlich Produktion GmbH. Henny Porten in Die grosse Pause (Carl Froehlich, 1927).
![Henny Porten in Die grosse Pause (1927)]()
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 79/5. Photo: Henny Porten-Froehlich Produktion GmbH. Henny Porten and Walter Slezak in Die grosse Pause (Carl Froehlich, 1927).
Sources: Filmportal.de, Wikipedia (German and English), and IMDb.
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 79/1. Photo: Henny Porten-Froehlich Produktion GmbH. Henny Porten in Die grosse Pause (Carl Froehlich, 1927).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 79/2. Photo: Henny Porten-Froehlich Produktion GmbH. Henny Porten in Die grosse Pause (Carl Froehlich, 1927).
Postillon d'amour
Henny Porten plays in Die grosse Pause/The Long Intermission (Carl Froehlich, 1927) Gabriele Amberg, a middle-aged violinist. She meets the much younger earl Ottokar Torgstädt (Walter Slezak). He is fascinated by her femininity and art, she by his youth. In addition, she feels flattered to be desired by the handsome nobleman.
So both marry abroad, without Ottokar's class-conscious family at home to hear about it. Count Ottokar does not want to confront Count and Countess Torgstädt with a fait accompli and presents them Gabriele in his native environment as his fiancee, his bride. But to be credible, the couple must first divorce again for that reason.
This 'big break' in marriage leads Gabriele to rethink. She realises that she and her Ottokar do not really fit together, because of the class difference, which raises all sorts of problems. Since Ottokar's cousin, Countess Ina Wildborn (Iwa Wanja), also smothers her ex-husband in an unrestrained way, Gabriele finds that the two, not only generation-wise, fit perfectly together.
So, she operates as a 'Postillon d'amour' and brings both together. Yet, the lucid violinist does not stay alone for long but finds new marriage happiness with her lawyer Boretius (Livio Pavanelli).
The film was shot at the Ufa studios in Tempelhof in May-June 1927 and had its premiere on 9 November 1927. Cinematography was by Axel Graatkjær. Sets were by Frantz Schroeder, costumes by Johanna Marbach.
Paimann's Filmlisten reviewed the film as "The age difference between the two spouses, which forms the basic motif of the subject, has been brought so much to the foreground by the choice of a young partner for Henny Porten, that almost the harmony of the film, which, moreover, has harmless-appealing, rich passages, and continuously well-staged action, suffers from it. Henny Porten is again excellent in general, while mise-en-scene and cinematography are neat."
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 79/3. Photo: Henny Porten-Froehlich Produktion GmbH. Henny Porten in Die grosse Pause (Carl Froehlich, 1927).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 79/4. Photo: Henny Porten-Froehlich Produktion GmbH. Henny Porten in Die grosse Pause (Carl Froehlich, 1927).
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 79/5. Photo: Henny Porten-Froehlich Produktion GmbH. Henny Porten and Walter Slezak in Die grosse Pause (Carl Froehlich, 1927).
Sources: Filmportal.de, Wikipedia (German and English), and IMDb.