The Transformation of Dr. Bessel

The Transformation of Dr. Bessel (German: Dr. Bessels Verwandlung ) is a 1927 German silent film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Jakob Tiedtke, Sophie Pagay and Hans Stüwe. The film was based on a novel by. It premiered at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo. It has thematic similarities with Ernst Lubitsch's 1932 film The Man I Killed. Whereas that film featured a French soldier partially assuming the identity of a dead German, in Oswald's film a German is able to survive by pretending to be French.

The film's sets were designed by the art director Franz Seemann and Bruno Lutz.

Synopsis
During the First World War, a German soldier escapes capture on the battlefield by taking the uniform of a French soldier. He then marries and settles down in Marseilles, abandoning any sense of national identity. Due to his language skills he is able to become a major success in international commerce.

Cast

 * Jakob Tiedtke as Fabrikant Julius Bessel
 * Sophie Pagay as Frau Bessel
 * Hans Stüwe as Alexander, ihr Sohn
 * Agnes Esterhazy as Helene Bissel, Alexanders Frau
 * Gertrud Eysoldt as Frau Pelagie Trouille
 * Agnes Petersen-Mozzuchinowa as Germaine, ihre Nichte
 * Kurt Gerron as der Grieche Georgakopoulos
 * Angelo Ferrari as der Spanier Pedro de Ferrante
 * Betty Astor as Karin Lundbye, ein Modell
 * Sig Arno as Chevallier, ein französischer Soldat
 * Rosa Valetti as Die Wirtin des Hotel garni
 * Hella Kürty as Paulette, Hotelstubenmädchen
 * Hermann Picha as Ein französischer Buchhändler
 * Max Neufeld as Ein französischer Major
 * Otto Wallburg as Ein französischer Sergeant
 * Curt Bois as Simche Regierer
 * Ilka Grüning as Frau Regierer
 * Ferdinand Bonn as Oberst Jovan Simonitsch
 * Lydia Potechina as Frau Simonitsch
 * Hertha von Walther as Eine Miß
 * Georg Burghardt as Ein französischer Offizier
 * Eva Speyer
 * Jaro Fürth
 * Hugo Döblin
 * Friedrich Kühne
 * Harry Nestor