MANIA

‘Mania. The Story of a Cigarette Factory Worker (‘Die Geschichte einer Mania Zigarettenarbeiterin’) (1918) Dir.: E. Illes
Time. 85 min. ‘Mania: the story of a cigarette factory worker’. A 1918 silent cinema masterpiece starring Pola Negri. Mania Walkowska, a cigarette factory worker, is chosen as the model to be featured on an advertising poster for a new brand of cigarettes. The author of the poster is to be a painter - Alex. At his place, Mania meets a young composer, Hans van den Hof, with whom she falls in love with reciprocally. Meanwhile, her image on the poster attracts the attention of Morelli, a rich and influential patron of the arts. Intrigued by her beauty, he arranges a grand ball to which he invites her. During the party, he unsuccessfully attempts to seduce her. Enraged, Morelli decides to take revenge and, through his influence, prevent her beloved from staging his opera Mania at the Berlin Philharmonic. Terrified, Mania begs Morelli to help Hans. The latter agrees on condition that she becomes his mistress. The girl gives in. The director of the philharmonic, Dreyer, finally agrees to stage Hans' work. However, the composer changes the title of his work to Tarantella. At the premiere, the seats in the box of honour are taken by Mania and Morelli. During the interval, Mania meets Hans and tries to explain to him that she loves him and that she only got involved with Morelli to help Hans stage the opera. The composer refuses to listen to her. Desperate, Mania locks the dancer in her dressing room, disguises herself as her and takes her place on stage. She also swaps a prop - a dummy revolver - for a real weapon.

(source: wikipedia)