Hell on Earth (1931 film)

Hell on Earth (German: Niemandsland) is a 1931 German film directed by Victor Trivas.

The film is also known as No Man's Land in France.

Plot summary

The film centres around a dugout, formed from a basement, in no man's land between the trenches and front lines during the First World War.

A ruined house is found by a soldier stranded between the lines who discovers an injured man trapped beneath some woodwork in the basement. The man has no uniform and is rescued by two men who we finally realise are from different sides. The injured man cannot speak and is helped by the other two. They try to leave and return to their own lines but are fired upone by both sides and so return to the shelter of the basement.

Eventually more soldiers find the safe haven in between all the firing and death with the credits listing the characters as The Englishman, The Frenchman, The Russian Jew, The Vaudevillian and The German. The storyline follows the arguments and discussions and ends with them marching out together with a final commentary declaring the sentiment of peace "Marching forward. Defying their common enemy - WAR."

Cast

• Ernst Busch as Ernst Kohler
• Vladimir Sokoloff as Lewin
• Renée Stobrawa as Frau Kohler
• Elisabeth Lennartz as Lewin's Bride
• Hugh Douglas as Charles Brown
• Louis Douglas as Joe Smile
• Zoe Frank as Mrs. Brown
• Georges Péclet as Charles Durand
• Rose-Mai as Frenchman's Sweetheart

Soundtrack

Ernst Busch's version of "Der Heimliche Aufmarsch" (The Secret Deployment) by Erich Weinert (poem) and Hanns Eisler (music)

References

• Knight, Arthur. The Liveliest Art: A Panoramic History of the Movies, Macmillan, New York, 1957. Page 196.

External links

• Niemandsland on IMDb
• Hell on Earth is available for free download at the Internet Archive