The Mistress of the World
| The Mistress of the World | |
|---|---|
American promotional poster from the re-edited 1922 version, Number 4. Saved by Wireless
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| Directed by |
Joseph Klein (Parts 1 and 4) Joe May (all) Uwe Jens Krafft (Parts 4,5,6) Karl Gerhardt (Part 7) |
| Produced by | Joe May |
| Written by |
Karl Figdor Ruth Goetz Richard Hutter Joe May Wilhelm Roellinghoff |
| Based on |
Die Herrin der Welt by Karl Figdor |
| Starring |
Mia May Michael Bohnen Henry Sze Hans Mierendorff |
| Music by | Ferdinand Hummel |
| Cinematography | Werner Brandes |
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Production
company |
May-Film
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| Distributed by | UFA |
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Release date
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| Country | Weimar Republic |
| Language |
Silent film German intertitles |
The Mistress of the World (German: Die Herrin der Welt) is an eight-part 1919 silent film made in the Weimar Republic starring Mia May in the lead role. The film, under the creative control of director Joe May, is noted for bringing together talent from across German cinema, including many who would work behind the camera during the emergence of German Expressionist cinema.
The story follows a young Danish woman on her globe-trotting adventures to find the legendary lost treasure of the Queen of Sheba that she hopes will enable her to bring revenge on the man that drew her father to commit suicide and led to her own social destruction. The first film was released in Germany on 5 December 1919, and this was followed each week by the release of the subsequent episodes.
German: Die Herrin der Welt 1. Teil – Die Freundin des gelben Mannes
Young Danish adventuress Maud Gregaards (Mia May) answers an advertisement to take up a position as a governess in China. There, she falls victim to the white slave-trade and is placed in a brothel. She is freed by her travel companion, Dr. Kien-Lung (Henry Sze), but the physician is then kidnapped by the devilish Hai-Fung, who also captures and tortures Maud. Chinese consul Madsen (Michael Bohnen) releases both Dr. Kein-Lung and Maud from the clutches of Hai-Fung. It is later revealed that Maud is harbouring a secret plot of revenge that brought her to China. Maud decides to tell her two trusted companions what that secret is.
German: Die Geschichte der Maud Gregaards
The second part of this film is a prequel to the first part. Maud explains to her companions why she travelled to China. Maud's father was an archivist at the Foreign Office in Denmark. There he was blackmailed to hand over a Chinese secret agreement. Unable either to face the blackmailers or to betray his country, he commits suicide. Maud later falls in love with Baron Murphy (Hans Mierendorff) for whom she works as a translator, and they become engaged. Unknowingly, Maud translates the Chinese document for the Baron, after which he takes the secret and flees the country, leaving Maud to be arrested as a spy. In jail, Maud gives birth to the Baron's child but the baby dies in prison. On being released from jail, Maud comes into the possession of information about the rabbi of Kuan-Fu, who is said to have knowledge of the hidden treasure of the Queen of Sheba. She decides to travel to China to find the treasure which she hopes will allow her to take revenge on her former lover.
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Wikipedia