Gold (1934)

Gold (1934). 2h

“Science fiction from the early Nazi era. Film production had been turned over to the Nazis in 1933 and all Jews and foreigners had been barred from the industry. There isnu0026#39;t much propaganda in this particular film, although the villain is a Brit. The British in general arenu0026#39;t depicted as terrible except for the villain. Hans Albers stars as a scientist who, along with his partner, has nearly perfected atomic alchemy, the ability to turn lead into gold. Their experiment goes suspiciously wrong, and Albers ends up barely alive. His partner isnu0026#39;t as lucky. After Albers recovers, a British billionaire (Michael Bohnen) offers him the opportunity to repeat the experiment in England, and Albers immediately suspects him of involvement in the original accident. In England, he meets and nearly falls in love with Bohnenu0026#39;s daughter (Metropolisu0026#39; Brigitte Helm), which distracts him from his own German wife (Lien Deyers). This is more a slow burning drama than hard sci-fi, but there are big, electrical, Frankenstein-esque machines (Frankenstein having already been made, obviously). Itu0026#39;s a decent film with a very good lead performance, some good cinematography and a good climax. Helm is probably the main point of interest for many, and it is nice to hear her speak. Sheu0026#39;s probably in it less than ten minutes, though.”