Heimat (1938 film)

Heimat is a 1938 German historical drama film directed by Carl Froelich and starring Zarah Leander, Heinrich George and Ruth Hellberg. The film's melodramatic storyline portrays the return of a leading singer to her hometown, where her father wishes her to settle down and marry. It is based on the 1893 play Heimat by Hermann Sudermann.

It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Franz Schroedter and Walter Haag.

Froelich won the award for best director at the 1938 Venice Film Festival for this film.

Synopsis
The opera singer Maddalena had been cast out by her family after they learned she was to bear the child of a banker von Keller who had seduced and abandoned her. Her return to her native city has her father warn her to remain away, because she is a threat to her family, and her sister Marie's wedding. However, von Keller threatens the reputation of her family with an underhanded banking scheme. He commits suicide, and Maddalena is reconciled with her family.

Cast

 * Zarah Leander as Maddalena Dall'Orto
 * Heinrich George as Leopold Dall'Orto Schwartze
 * Ruth Hellberg as Marie
 * Lina Carstens as Fränze von Klebs
 * Paul Hörbiger as Franz Heffterdingk
 * Georg Alexander as Ludwig Prinz von Imlingen
 * Leo Slezak as Rohrmoser
 * Hans Nielsen as Max von Wendlowsky
 * Franz Schafheitlin as Bankdirektor von Keller
 * Ernst Schiffner