Pillars of Society

Pillars of Society (German: Stützen der Gesellschaft) is a 1935 German drama film directed by Detlef Sierck (later known as Douglas Sirk) and starring Heinrich George, Maria Krahn and Albrecht Schoenhals. It is based on the eponymous play by Henrik Ibsen. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Otto Guelstorff and Hans Minzloff. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin and on location in Hamburg and the Danish island of Bornholm. Synopsis In America, at the turn of the twentieth century, Norwegian immigrant Johann Tonnessen is a successful farmer. A friend of his, who manages a circus, invites Johann to travel with the circus on their upcoming tour of Norway and return to the town Johann emigrated from twenty years before. Meanwhile, in Johann's hometown in Norway, Consul Karsten Bernick is one of the wealthiest, most celebrated citizens. He rules the town and owns a shipyard, which he intends to hand down eventually to his beloved young son Olaf, who is obsessed with America and the Wild West. Consul Bernick's wife Betty is Johann's sister. The Bernicks also have a young woman living with them named Dina, an orphan they adopted as a child. Bernick treats Dina with kindness, but his wife treats her like a maid.