Portrait of an Unknown Woman

Warm and cosy, 'Bildnis einer Unbekannten' wrapped its audiences in an eiderdown of romantic fiction while keeping them awake with a tremor of suspense. And even if the viewers were aware of being manipulated by scenario contrivances, they sat goggled-eyed, wondering what would happen next to the heroine, beautiful Ruth Leuwerik. The whole production looked luscious and Helmut Kaeutner's clever handling avoided any over-sentimental pitfall. He kept a tight control over the maudlin material, and sended the flamboyant doing in constant motion.

Miss Leuwerik, who seemed to have fully understood the character of the lonely woman, wears gorgeous gowns, and brings some calm into the often lurid going-ons. The film's main weakness is a highly mannered, almost grotesquely attitudinizing O.W. Fischer, tearing his scenes to tatters.

The film recouped every Mark of its high cost, and then some.