Felsom Film

Felsom Film was a German film production company established in Weimar in 1922 by producers Hermann Fellner and Josef Somlo. Its name combined elements of the founders’ surnames. The company operated during the internationally oriented period of German cinema associated with the Weimar Republic, producing and co-producing films across the second half of the silent era and the transition to sound. A notable aspect of Felsom Film’s business was its collaboration with the British studio Gainsborough Pictures. These co-productions connected the German company to a broader European production and distribution environment at a time when film companies were increasingly seeking international partnerships. Felsom’s documented filmography includes productions released between 1925 and 1932, among them Dancing Mad, A Modern Dubarry, The Woman on the Rack, Number 17, Strauss Is Playing Today, The Great Adventuress, The Gallant Hussar, The Wrecker, The Fourth from the Right, Three Days of Love, and Mädchen zum Heiraten. The company’s most historically significant release was Land Without Women, issued in September 1929. It is identified as the first full-length German-language sound film to use the Tri-Ergon sound-on-film process. Its release preceded UFA’s Melody of the Heart, which appeared in December 1929, making Felsom Film an early participant in German cinema’s conversion from silent production to synchronized sound. Felsom Film’s existence was cut short by the political transformation of Germany after the Nazi takeover. Fellner and Somlo dissolved the company and went into exile in Britain. The company therefore belongs to the history of German and European cinema as a short-lived but internationally connected production house whose work extended from silent-film production into early German sound cinema.

Felsom Film was founded in Weimar in 1922 by the producers Hermann Fellner and Josef Somlo. The company’s name was formed from elements of the two founders’ surnames. It operated during the Weimar period, when German cinema was developing both as a major domestic industry and as an increasingly international cultural and commercial field. During the 1920s, Felsom Film produced a succession of feature films and participated in co-productions with the British studio Gainsborough Pictures. This relationship placed the company within a cross-border production network linking German and British cinema. Its surviving or documented filmography covers the late silent era and includes Dancing Mad (1925), A Modern Dubarry (1927), The Woman on the Rack (1928), Number 17 (1928), Strauss Is Playing Today (1928), The Great Adventuress (1928), The Gallant Hussar (1928), The Wrecker (1929), and The Fourth from the Right (1929). Felsom Film’s best-known historical contribution came during the transition to synchronized sound. In September 1929, it released Land Without Women, described as the first full-length German-language sound film made using the Tri-Ergon sound-on-film process. The release came before UFA’s Melody of the Heart, which was not released until December 1929. Felsom Film therefore occupied an important position in the early German sound-film transition, even though it did not become a long-term major studio. The company continued releasing films into the early 1930s, including Three Days of Love (1931) and Mädchen zum Heiraten (1932). Its operations ended after the Nazi takeover of Germany. Fellner and Somlo dissolved Felsom Film and fled to Britain, bringing the company’s history to a close in 1933. The firm is consequently remembered as a relatively short-lived German production company whose history reflects three major developments: Weimar-era film production, international German-British collaboration, and the technological shift from silent cinema to sound.

• 1933

  The company is dissolved

  [1]Felsom Filmen.wikipedia.org

  After the Nazi takeover, Fellner and Somlo dissolve Felsom Film and leave Germany for Britain.

• 1932

  Mädchen zum Heiraten is released

  [1]Felsom Filmen.wikipedia.org

  Mädchen zum Heiraten is among the company’s final documented releases.

• 1931

  Three Days of Love is released

  [1]Felsom Filmen.wikipedia.org

  Three Days of Love is added to Felsom Film’s early-1930s output.

• 1929

  Land Without Women introduces an early German sound-film milestone

  [1]Felsom Filmen.wikipedia.org

  The company releases Land Without Women in September using the Tri-Ergon sound-on-film process, ahead of UFA’s Melody of the Heart.

• 1925

  Dancing Mad is released

  [1]Felsom Filmen.wikipedia.org

  Dancing Mad becomes one of the earliest documented titles in the company’s filmography.

• 1922

  Felsom Film is founded in Weimar

  [1]Felsom Filmen.wikipedia.org

  Hermann Fellner and Josef Somlo establish the film production company in Weimar, Germany.

• 1920

  International co-production activity expands

  [1]Felsom Filmen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1920s, Felsom Film undertakes a series of co-productions with British studio Gainsborough Pictures.

A Weimar-era German film production company with an international co-production orientation and a notable role in the early adoption of German-language sound film.

• Feature film · 1929

  Land Without Women

  Released in September 1929, Land Without Women is Felsom Film’s most historically significant documented production. It is recognized as the first full-length German-language sound film to use the Tri-Ergon sound-on-film process and appeared before UFA’s Melody of the Heart.

• Feature film · 1925

  Dancing Mad

  A 1925 feature listed in Felsom Film’s documented filmography.

• Feature film · 1927

  A Modern Dubarry

  A 1927 feature included among the company’s documented productions.

• Feature film · 1928

  The Woman on the Rack

  A 1928 feature listed in the Felsom Film filmography.

• Feature film · 1931

  Three Days of Love

  A 1931 feature released during the company’s final period of operation.

• Feature film · 1932

  Mädchen zum Heiraten

  A 1932 feature and one of the last documented titles associated with Felsom Film.

• 1933

  Dissolution and exileStrategy

  Background

  The Nazi takeover transformed the political and cultural environment for German film companies and their personnel.

  Action taken

  Fellner and Somlo dissolved Felsom Film and fled to Britain.

  Aftermath

  Felsom Film ceased operating as a production company.

  Source

• 1929

  Release of Land Without WomenProduct launch

  Background

  German cinema was moving from silent production toward synchronized sound, and competing studios were introducing new sound technologies.

  Action taken

  Felsom Film released Land Without Women using the Tri-Ergon sound-on-film process.

  Aftermath

  The release preceded UFA’s Melody of the Heart and gave Felsom Film a notable place in the early history of German-language sound cinema.

  Source

1. 1Felsom Filmen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Destination London: German-speaking émigrés and British cinema, 1925–1950books.google.com
3. 3From Caligari to California: Erich Pommer’s Life in the International Film Warsbooks.google.com