Deutsche Film-Union AG (Defu) (Berlin)

Agnes Günther’s heart-rending fairy tale dazzled turn-of-the-century German audiences and sold hundreds of thousands of copies before being adapted into this tale of timeless passion, the beautiful The Saint and the Fool. The unapologetically sentimental classic was directed by Wilhelm Dieterle, who launched a successful career in Weimar cinema before becoming known for romantic, lush melodramas and technicolor extravaganzas, including 1945′s Marlene Dietrich unforgettable Love Letters. The dashing Dieterle himself plays Harrogate, Earl of Torstein, whose star-crossed love for the luminous Rosemarie of Brauneck (Lien Deyers, discovered by Fritz Lang) is further doomed by royal heroes and villains, the requisite evil stepmother, and fantastical elements that channel the intoxicating romance of Camille through the magic of the Brothers Grimm.

A safecracker and thief escapes from prison, founds a factory and becomes rich. After 20 years, his accomplice, released from prison, demands his share and gets it. But when he also demands the hand of the factory owner's daughter, the latter shoots him. However, the girl's groom is blamed for the murder. After two detectives and a female colleague have investigated, the guilt of the factory owner comes to light, who then dies.