User Reviews

There are two very remarkable people in "Die Mädchen Ohne Vaterland" ( The Girl Without Fatherland ) (1912), making it a highly regarded film by this German count; one is Frau Asta Nielsen ( putting women first, an ancient aristocratic custom ), and the other, director Herr Urban Gad.

These important names in early silent film history did their best in order to lay the foundations of what we now call "modern cinema", although this may at first appear to be a contradiction.

Herr Urban Gad's films were astounding considering the primitive film the new invention had in such an early time. The Danish film director had a fluent film narrative in where outdoor sceneries were a very important part for the story ( it wasn't common practice at that time that directors would move lock, stock, and barrel outside the primitive settings ). Because of careful art direction and skillful use of the camera, Herr Urban Gad's pictures were far ahead of their time in comparison with the typical theatrical and static pictures of the period.

And what can this Herr Graf say about Frau Asta Nielsen??... it is not necessary to say too much about the Danish actress, ja wohl!... you only have to watch her performance in this film to comprehend what is both modern and cinematographic acting. Frau Nielsen's natural resourcefulness and brilliant performances continues to surprise audiences a century afterwards; shining here in this film about spying, treason, military secrets, or the perils of being seduced by a gypsy.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must sacrifice himself for his fatherland, bowing down before gypsy charms.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/

Gypsy Asta Nielsen is recruited to spy on the local army base. She settles on Max Wogritsch as an officer with a roving eye and a lot of hands to sneak her into his quarters, where she may find secret papers.

Miss Nielsen seems to be having a lot of fun with the role, swinging her hips and grinning at Wogritsch's fumbling efforts to have his way with her. In the way of these stories, however, she comes to have deeper feelings for him, even though as a gypsy, she has no understanding of why a country could be important to anyone when cash is offered.

Although the copy I looked at is supposed to be incomplete, its timing matches that listed on the IMDb, and the story doesn't have any gaps. Cameraman Guido Seeber offers a few gentle pans, and between Miss Nielsen's charming performance and the general anti-Gypsy sentiment of the film, it was undoubtedly very popular.

Asta Nielsen plays a gypsy enlisted to spy on an enemy lieutenant with whom she falls in love. Directed by her husband, Urban Gad, Nielsen lights up the screen as the sexy, free-spirited Zidra, and while the story might seem primitive by today's standards, it's a comparatively sophisticated film for 1912.