Eight hundred German filmmakers (cast and crew) fled the Nazis in the 1930s. The film uses voice-overs, archival footage, and film clips to examine Berlin's vital filmmaking in the 1920s; then it follows a producer, directors, composers, editors, writers, and actors to Hollywood: some succeeded and many found no work. Among those profiled are Erich Pommer, Joseph May, Ernst Lubitsch, Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, and Peter Lorre. Once in Hollywood, these exiles helped each other, housed new arrivals, and raised money so others could escape. Some worked on anti-Nazi films, like Casablanca. The themes and lighting of German Expressionism gave rise in Hollywood to film noir.
Karen Thomas
Director, Writer
Cameraperson67%
In the Realms of the Unreal71%
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing70%
Audrey71%
Tricked: The Documentary61%
Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return67%
Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition86%
The Walking Dead: The Return73%
And the Oscar Goes To...68%
The Godfather Family: A Look Inside77%
Hitchcock/Truffaut72%
Seduced and Abandoned61%
As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty77%
American Teen63%
Directed by John Ford70%
Katy Perry: Part of Me71%
Love, Gilda72%
Love, Marilyn66%
I Am Ali67%
A Plastic Ocean75%
