The German people, even the aristocrats, sometimes liked to see Amerikan silent adventure films full of stunts so we thought it would be a good idea to have our own special hero and adventurer on the screen and for that reason Herr Harry Piel was perfect. He was known as the "German Douglas Fairbanks", because his films were full of mysterious adventures, stunts, huge explosions, sinister menaces and all that stuff that a silent hero needs to solve in order to be credited as a genuine screen hero.
To watch "Was Ist Los I'm Zirkus Beely?" is a unique opportunity for the silent fan because it is almost the only Harry Piel silent film that has survived till this modern day due to the fact that the greater part of Harry Piel silent films were destroyed in WWII during an air raid. The only copy that exists of "Was Ist Los I'm Zirkus Beely?" was found at the "Cinecitá Italiana" and it is considered the only one that exists in the whole world; this copy was for the international market and for that reason it is an abridged one but in spite this situation the characteristics of Herr Harry Piel films can be seen in this early film.
Harry Piel plays Harry Peel ( well, the German actor was not a witty man when it came to devising fictitious names ) who receives a urgent telephone call from a friend who has returned from South Amerika recently. The call is being made from the circus "Beely" and our hero arrives there too late to prevent the murder of his friend. Now Harry must find his friend's killer and go on a strange mission involving a hidden document.
In spite of the nature of the plot, the film doesn't have many Harry Piel stunts ( beside the circus performances ) or car chases or huge explosions and sometimes it is very slow with many sequences at the circus "Beely" that don't furnish the necessary action that the story needs. The circus background does provide some excitement showcasing risky performances and hungry lions and tigers and the story has many of the attractive elements usually found in classic mystery films including a masked man with obscure intentions, a very important and hidden document, mechanical death traps and even a blind girl who needs the help of our German hero in order to recover her sight.
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must perform a somersault in front of an important German fat heiress.
Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/
To watch "Was Ist Los I'm Zirkus Beely?" is a unique opportunity for the silent fan because it is almost the only Harry Piel silent film that has survived till this modern day due to the fact that the greater part of Harry Piel silent films were destroyed in WWII during an air raid. The only copy that exists of "Was Ist Los I'm Zirkus Beely?" was found at the "Cinecitá Italiana" and it is considered the only one that exists in the whole world; this copy was for the international market and for that reason it is an abridged one but in spite this situation the characteristics of Herr Harry Piel films can be seen in this early film.
Harry Piel plays Harry Peel ( well, the German actor was not a witty man when it came to devising fictitious names ) who receives a urgent telephone call from a friend who has returned from South Amerika recently. The call is being made from the circus "Beely" and our hero arrives there too late to prevent the murder of his friend. Now Harry must find his friend's killer and go on a strange mission involving a hidden document.
In spite of the nature of the plot, the film doesn't have many Harry Piel stunts ( beside the circus performances ) or car chases or huge explosions and sometimes it is very slow with many sequences at the circus "Beely" that don't furnish the necessary action that the story needs. The circus background does provide some excitement showcasing risky performances and hungry lions and tigers and the story has many of the attractive elements usually found in classic mystery films including a masked man with obscure intentions, a very important and hidden document, mechanical death traps and even a blind girl who needs the help of our German hero in order to recover her sight.
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must perform a somersault in front of an important German fat heiress.
Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/
