Die Frau auf der Folter

Die Frau auf der Folter was the original German title of Robert Wiene’s 1928 production A Scandal in Paris. Based on a popular British stage play, the film stars Lili Damita, cast against type as the demure wife of a far-from-faithful but very powerful British politician. During a trip to Paris, Damita makes the mistake of falling for a handsome rake, whereupon she is subjected to the full fury of the Double Standard. The subsequent divorce trial literally crushes the poor heroine, who is painted in the most sordid of terms by her husband’s attorneys. The climactic courtroom scene effectively utilizes the multiple-image techniques then in vogue in the German cinema.