Song. Die Liebe eines armen Menschenkindes

Show Life

After a dispute fuelled by jealousy, knife thrower John is stranded in an Asian port. There, he rescues the young Chinese woman Song from the violent clutches of two libertines. Deciding that she is the ideal partner for his act, they begin performing together at a vaudeville theatre. One day, John’s former mistress, the stylish dancer Gloria, turns up. John needs money to win her back, so he takes part in the robbery of a mail train and ends up losing his eyesight. He attributes all the good things that happen to him from then on to Gloria. But in reality, it is Song who has been devoted to him all along ...

This melodrama set in exotic locales is considered the most mature work of Richard Eichberg, a busy director who worked across all genres. With delicate Hollywood star Anna May Wong, and heavyweight Heinrich George as the leads, Song unfolds as a dazzling visual interplay of contrasts. Moving between dive bar and cabaret, ocean liner and night train, this German-British co-production represented Weimar cinema’s first foray into the milieu of European ex-pats in a colonial setting, which was very attractive for western foreign markets.

Source: 68. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)