The Transformation of Dr. Bessel (German: ) is a 1927 German silent film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Jakob Tiedtke, Sophie Pagay and Hans Stüwe.Rogowski p.265 The film was based on a novel by . It premiered at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo. It has thematic similarities with Ernst Lubitsch's 1932 film The Man I Killed. Whereas that film featured a French soldier partially assuming the identity of a dead German, in Oswald's film a German is able to survive by pretending to be French.Continuity and Crisis in German Cinema p.301
The film's sets were designed by the art director Franz Seemann and Bruno Lutz.
Synopsis During the First World War, a German soldier escapes capture on the battlefield by taking the uniform of a French soldier. He then marries and settles down in Marseille, abandoning any sense of national identity. Due to his language skills he is able to become a major success in international commerce.
Cast Jakob Tiedtke as Fabrikant Julius Bessel Sophie Pagay as Frau Bessel Hans Stüwe as Alexander, ihr Sohn Agnes Esterhazy as Helene Bissel, Alexanders Frau Gertrud Eysoldt as Frau Pelagie Trouille Agnes Petersen-Mozzuchinowa as Germaine, ihre Nichte Kurt Gerron as der Grieche Georgakopoulos Angelo Ferrari as der Spanier Pedro de Ferrante Betty Astor as Karin Lundbye, ein Modell Sig Arno as Chevallier, ein französischer Soldat Rosa Valetti as Die Wirtin des Hotel garni Hella Kürty as Paulette, Hotelstubenmädchen Hermann Picha as Ein französischer Buchhändler Max Neufeld as Ein französischer Major Otto Wallburg as Ein französischer Sergeant Curt Bois as Simche Regierer Ilka Grüning as Frau Regierer Ferdinand Bonn as Oberst Jovan Simonitsch Lydia Potechina as Frau Simonitsch Hertha von Walther as Eine Miß Georg Burghardt as Ein französischer Offizier Eva Speyer Jaro Fürth Hugo Döblin Friedrich Kühne Harry Nestor
References
Bibliography Hales, Barbara, Petrescu, Mihaela & Weinstein, Valerie. Continuity and Crisis in German Cinema, 1928-1936. Camden House, 2016. Rogowski, Christian. The Many Faces of Weimar Cinema: Rediscovering Germany's Filmic Legacy. Camden House, 2010.
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