Joyless Street

"Open any door in Melchior Alley, and you'll come face to face with naked misery."

1925 2h 35m DE

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 52

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1921, we follow two women - Marie and Grete - from the same poor Viennese neighborhood, as they try to better the lives of themselves and their families during the period of Austrian postwar hyperinflation.

“Open any door in Melchior Alley, and you'll come face to face with naked misery.”

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Cast

Werner Krauss
Josef Geiringer
Jaro Fürth
Hofrat Rumfort
Greta Garbo
Greta Rumfort
Asta Nielsen
Maria Lechner (Mizzi)
Agnes Esterhazy
Regine
Karl Etlinger
Generaldirektor Rosenow
Henry Stuart
Einar Hanson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: G.W. Pabst
Writers: Willy Haas
Languages: No Language
Countries: Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 155 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

101 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by G.W. Pabst, shot by Curt Oertel. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor G.W. Pabst shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Werner Krauss and Jaro Fürth and Greta Garbo carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Open any door in Melchior Alley, and you'll come face to face with naked misery.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0015842 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 52 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

G.W. Pabst directs. Curt Oertel behind the camera. G.W. Pabst cuts. Produced in Germany. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 155 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2101 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by G.W. Pabst, shot by Curt Oertel. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor G.W. Pabst shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Werner Krauss and Jaro Fürth and Greta Garbo carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Open any door in Melchior Alley, and you'll come face to face with naked misery.".
7IMDB entry: tt0015842 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 52 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "nightclub", "butcher", "securities, stocks and bonds ", "teacher".

The technical file

Cinematography: Curt Oertel
Editing: G.W. Pabst
Production design: Otto Erdmann
Runtime: 155 min · 2h 35m
Status: Released
Original language: DE
IMDB: Joyless Street (1925)

Also by

G.W. Pabst

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-06
★ 7/10
This is quite a complex and telling tale of a poverty-stricken family struggling to survive in a post Great war Vienna at the star of the 1920s. The extent of their deprivation almost drives Greta Garbo ("Greta") to sell herself to put food on the table, it certainly drives her to petty crime. To be honest this rather drab and gritty story from the pen of Hugo Bettauer (who also wrote the superb "City Without Jews" (1938)) is, in itself, nothing particular to write home about - It's the excellent, earthy and well crafted performances from the sisters "Marie" (Asta Nielsen) and Garbo alongside that of their really quite greedy father "Hofrat Rumport" (Jaro Fürth) and the truly odious people peddler "Metzger" (Werner Krauss) that penetrate deeply. We see a side of a city usually presented accompanied by divine Strauss waltzes with grand costumes and the palaces shown in a completely different light. The direction from Georg Pabst is effective at, though in no great hurry to, immersing us in the true ghastliness of their situations. Garbo, quite literally, shines - her eyes and her features, frequently in intensely potent close up, really breathes life into the production that though quite long, is never dull.

Production companies