Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918) was a sweet German comedy by the Messter Film Company. Henny Porten starred as Agnes and Hermann Thimig played one of her suitors. The screenplay was written by Robert Wiene, who directed two years later the expressionistic horror film Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920). And the cinematographer was Karl Freund, who would go on to direct such horror classics as The Mummy (1932) and Mad Love (1935) in Hollywood.
![Henny Porten and Hermann Thimig in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier (1918)]()
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 531/1. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
![Henny Porten and Hermann Thimig in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier (1918)]()
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 531/2. Photo: Messter Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
![Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier (1918)]()
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 531/3. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
![Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier (1918)]()
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne Series, no. 531/4. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
![Henny Porten and Hermann Thimig in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier (1918)]()
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 531/5. Photo: Messter Film. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918) is a comedy from the Biedermeier period. Two rich fathers, Baron Hermann von Hermanntitz (Artur Menzel) and the landowner Arnau (Rudolf Biebrach) have agreed in advance: Arnau's daughter Agnes (Henny Porten) and Hermann's son Hans (Curt Ehrle) should marry without ever having met.
But Hans does not behave as befitting the class - as one would expect in the aristocratic circles. He prefers art and wants to be a painter. Since he appears to be out of the race, Hermanntitz sends his younger son Tony (Hermann Thimig).
But Agnes is in no way willing to let her father sell her so easily, especially since she doesn't know either of the Hermannitz sons. And this is how she - always ready with pranks - comes up with an idea: When her father is about to travel, she 'organises' the inn sign from the village inn and has it attached to the castle entrance. The interior is also transformed into an inn.
She persuades the fatherly servants to join in the fun and pretend to be waiters and waitresses. Soon there is a lot of hustle and bustle: first Hans comes in, next an actor who is supposed to pretend to be Tony on his behalf.
In the meantime, the real Tony has made friends in the real pub with a comedy group from which he has selected his 'deputy' and sent it to the castle (Paul Westermeier). After all, the real Tony also wants to know what's going on at the castle and also comes to the wrong inn. Suddenly Agnes Arnau has three applicants for her favour. She chooses the first, Hans, the painter.
The four-act silent film was shot in the Messter-Film-Studio in Berlin in spring 1918 and was 1392 meters long and after new censorship in April 1921 1308 meters long. During the censorship in May 1918, a ban on young people was issued. The premiere took place on 24 May 1918 in the Berlin film palace Mozartsaal.
![Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier]()
German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 531/6. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in the silent comedy Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918). The man could be Rudolf Biebrach, who plays Agnes's father in the film.
![Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier (1918)]()
German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 531/7. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
![Henny Porten and Hermann Thimig in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier (1918)]()
German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 531/8. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Portenin Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
![Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier (1918)]()
German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 531/9. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
![Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier]()
German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 531/10. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
Sources: Uli Jung, Walter Schatzberg (Beyond Caligari: The Films of Robert Wiene), Wikipedia (German and English) and IMDb.
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 531/1. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 531/2. Photo: Messter Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 531/3. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne Series, no. 531/4. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
German postcard by Rotophot in the Film Sterne series, no. 531/5. Photo: Messter Film. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
A lot of hustle and bustle
Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918) is a comedy from the Biedermeier period. Two rich fathers, Baron Hermann von Hermanntitz (Artur Menzel) and the landowner Arnau (Rudolf Biebrach) have agreed in advance: Arnau's daughter Agnes (Henny Porten) and Hermann's son Hans (Curt Ehrle) should marry without ever having met.
But Hans does not behave as befitting the class - as one would expect in the aristocratic circles. He prefers art and wants to be a painter. Since he appears to be out of the race, Hermanntitz sends his younger son Tony (Hermann Thimig).
But Agnes is in no way willing to let her father sell her so easily, especially since she doesn't know either of the Hermannitz sons. And this is how she - always ready with pranks - comes up with an idea: When her father is about to travel, she 'organises' the inn sign from the village inn and has it attached to the castle entrance. The interior is also transformed into an inn.
She persuades the fatherly servants to join in the fun and pretend to be waiters and waitresses. Soon there is a lot of hustle and bustle: first Hans comes in, next an actor who is supposed to pretend to be Tony on his behalf.
In the meantime, the real Tony has made friends in the real pub with a comedy group from which he has selected his 'deputy' and sent it to the castle (Paul Westermeier). After all, the real Tony also wants to know what's going on at the castle and also comes to the wrong inn. Suddenly Agnes Arnau has three applicants for her favour. She chooses the first, Hans, the painter.
The four-act silent film was shot in the Messter-Film-Studio in Berlin in spring 1918 and was 1392 meters long and after new censorship in April 1921 1308 meters long. During the censorship in May 1918, a ban on young people was issued. The premiere took place on 24 May 1918 in the Berlin film palace Mozartsaal.
German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 531/6. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in the silent comedy Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918). The man could be Rudolf Biebrach, who plays Agnes's father in the film.
German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 531/7. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 531/8. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Portenin Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 531/9. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
German postcard in the Film Sterne series by Rotophot, no. 531/10. Photo: Messter-Film, Berlin. Henny Porten in Agnes Arnau und ihre drei Freier/Agnes Arnau and her three suitors (Rudolf Biebrach, 1918).
Sources: Uli Jung, Walter Schatzberg (Beyond Caligari: The Films of Robert Wiene), Wikipedia (German and English) and IMDb.