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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 917

Hintertreppe

192150 minGermany
Drama

Synopsis

A maid waits for visits and letters from her lover while a lonely postman watches from across the courtyard. When the expected messages stop, a reassuring letter seems to restore her hopes. Discovering who actually wrote it exposes an attempt to control her feelings, bringing compassion, deception and jealousy into the narrow spaces behind the building.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
49:43
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Leopold Jessner, Paul Leni · Public domain

Cast

DirectorsLeopold JessnerPaul Leni

Behind the scenes

Carl Mayer's scenario and the collaboration of Leopold Jessner and Paul Leni anticipate the concentrated domestic scale associated with German chamber drama. The staircase and surrounding rooms make a small environment carry the weight of the conflict.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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