People on Sunday (Menschen am Sonntag)

This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to and analysis of Menschen am Sonntag / People on Sunday (1930), which since its restoration in 1997 has come to be recognized as one of the last great silent films, and one of the most unusual and multi-faceted film productions of the Weimar Republic. The film is also significant in the context of the careers of the extraordinary ensemble of individuals who made it, including Robert Siodmak, Edgar G. Ulmer, Billy Wilder, Curt Siodmak, Eugen Schüfftan, and the producer Moriz Seeler. Drawing on archival research and revealing new details about its making, this film provides a full account of the innovative collaborative methods used to create People on Sunday as an independent film, defying the conventions of the German film industry. In a series of themed chapters it offers a balanced reading of the film’s playful narrative, which is part documentary, part fiction, examining the film’s hybrid realism, its representation of work and leisure, its provocative and potentially problematic take on gender and sexuality, and its extraordinary cinematography. It concludes by reflecting on the film’s reception and legacy.