"Geschlecht in Fesseln" or "Die Sexualnot der Strafgefangenen" or "Sex in Chains" is a German movie from 1928, so two more years until it has its 90th anniversary. The title may sound like some hardcore porn or a film by Jesus Franco, but that's not even close. This is a black-and-white silent film that was released in Germany five years before the Nazis came into power. The director and lead actor is William Dieterle and he was in his 30s when he made this one, already a successful and prolific filmmaker. He broke through in Hollywood later too and became an Oscar nominee a decade after this one here. The cast is mostly German, but you will also find Scandinavians playing major parts. It runs for 90 minutes in the version I saw, but I also saw that there are versions out there (such as the original) which are approximately 15 minutes longer. Silent films usually struggle in two departments. The first would be overacting and the second would be lack of intertitles in quantity. The film does surprisingly good on both occasions, which is rare to watch in terms of films from this time of cinema. Intertitles exist in all kinds of languages (German original, English, French...), so you can see this one wherever you come from. But in terms of the story, I was not really convinced. This film sure had some lengths and I believe it may have worked better at half the runtime, 45 minutes perhaps. It is the story of a man who accidentally kills another man and has to go to jail. This jail time changes everything for him and for his girl. It is a pretty dark movie, including topics such as killing other people and committing suicide and the suffering in here is not just of a physical, but also of an emotional nature. Younger audiences were not allowed to see it and the Nazis banned it completely, which is usually a good sign for how authentic a film is. It may be authentic, but I just never found it interesting really. Then again I may be a bit biased as I have never really liked silent films. This one is not a failure for sure, but not good enough so that I would recommend it to anybody except huge silent film lovers.

Of all the director's to work at Warner Bros. in the 30's, only Raoul Walsh came close to William Dieterle's visual involvedness. Although Michael Curtiz gets the lion's share of the glory, it is Dieterle, with his incredible sense of illustrative storytelling that remains the least lauded of the studio's directorial roster. In his essential "Hollywood Directors," Jean-Pierre Coursodon argues that Dieterle was forced to tell his early stories through pictures in order to compensate for his inability to speak English. Thanks to Kino Video, we now have a chance to see one of the director's early German films in near pristine form.. Under the subheading, "Gay-Themed Films of the Silent Era," Kino has released a set of four films that were, to say the least, dicey in their day. The package includes G.W. Pabst's "Diary of a Lost Girl," Carl Theodor Dreyer's "Michael," Richard Oswald "Different from the Others" and Dieterle's "Sex in Chains." Under the skilled guidance of film preservationist/silent film maharishi David Shepard these films probably haven't looked this good since their initial release.Not only does Dieterle act as "Sex and Chains" director, he also stars as Franz Sommer, an unemployed engineer desperate for work. When we first see Helene polishing Franz's nameplate we are not sure whether she's a servant girl or his wife. On the surface everything seems proper until her father comes to visit and she is forced to cover for her out of work spouse. A friend tips Franz to a commission-based door-to-door vacuum salesman gig, but eventually Helene must accept work as a cigarette girl to supplant them. It is here that Franz clobbers a creepy rival for his wife's affection and is sent to prison. While awaiting trial, initial hopes that the victim will survive are quickly dashed and Franz is given a three-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter. With her father ignoring her and no one else to turn to, Steinau, a wrongly convicted former cell mate of Franz vows to help Helene, and prison moderation in general.As expected, there are many visually enthralling, satirically sharp-eyed touches scattered throughout. A white cat hisses danger at Franz's first house call. His dour boss insisting that Franz smile. A hungry and penniless Franz placing a serving knife gifted by his father-in-law in his mouth to prove one needs money, not cutlery to avoid famine. On the downside, there are one too many hand-held, back-and-forth dialog scenes that add wobble, not immediacy.Those expecting to get their kink on from the lurid title will be sadly disappointed. Of course there is a parade of pre-code don'ts to satisfy. In a fit of romantic longing for his wife, Franz dreams of himself at home in their marital bed. It doesn't help when a fellow inmate informs Franz that he's "lived to see someone unman himself, just so he could finally sleep." Convicts form table scraps in the shape of a nude woman. When a sex-crazed inmate complains to the prison doctor, the advice he gets is, "Simulator!? Franz isn't the only one suffering the effects of desire, and if there is one point this film gets across quite well is the sexual longing among convicts and their other half's. The graceful dissolves that punctuate Franz and Helene's dreams are breathtakingly executed. Sadly, they are as illusory as the couple's thoughts of romantically hooking up while he is in prison, for even as Franz discovers the pros of loving a con, Helene is finding comfort in the arms of old pal Steinau. Even though Franz and Helene are eventually allowed a booty call while the warden and his family take their tea in the other room, it is all for naught. Guilt has plunged Helene to her emotional lowest and made it equally impossible for Franz to perform.When all is said and done this is nothing more than a well-intentioned message picture with isolated bursts of visual brilliance. Anyone looking for themes of gay liberation may be disappointed to discover just how homophobic the film's message is. Conjugal visits over inter-prisoner contact are what the film champions. About two-thirds of the way through we begin being bombarded by significant speeches and that's when it begins to crumble. "Is it not to weep when millions are spent to help horses, cats and dogs, and so little for the betterment of men!" Please. These guys are not in prison for stealing flies from spiders.Will Steinau convince Franz to release Helene from his heart? Will Franz and Helene ever have a "normal" relationship or was being taught the language of love by a group of burly convicts too much for Franz's libido to endure? It'll cost you $29.95 to find out.

I am total amazed to see this film with so high a rating on IMDb. This film is far from groundbreaking, and would never have been reconstructed, nor released on DVD, if it were not for it's 'gay' subtext. In these days of 'Will & Grace' and 'Queer Eye For The Straight Guy' any film with a gay theme seems to be considered brave, and innovative, when the actual artistic merits are ignored. 'Geschlecht in Fesseln - Die Sexualnot Der Gefangenen' aka is such a film.Director William Dieterle's first misstep was miscasting himself in the lead role. Although Dieterle was certainly a good looking man (In fact he resembles a young Gary Cooper), he exhibits no depth, and never seems to be really affected by the events unfolding around him, nor does he show any chemistry with either his male (Hans Heinrich Von Twardowski) love interest, or with his wife (Swedish silent star Mary Johnson). Calling Dieterle's performance wooden would not begin to adequately convey his lackluster effort. There were many young capable German actors at the time who would have easily been able to play Dieterle's role. Gustav Von Waggenheim ('Nosferatu'), or Hans Heinrich Von Twardowski already cast in this film as 'Alfred', would have been a more appropriate choice. Think of Harrison Ford portraying Jimmy Carter, and you will get a rough idea how badly miscast Dieterle (Never a good actor to start with) is.The second major problem with 'Sex In Chains' is it's over the top, melodramatic approach to the material. The story itself is pretty solid, but director Dieterle abandons the option of presenting the material as a structured,compelling narrative, and instead decides to use an over the top, emotionally manipulative, soap opera type approach, more appropriate to pre-1914 Hollywood, than to late 1920s Germany. Indicative of Dieterle's technique are: overly long exterior shots of German streets, and countryside done with a hand held camera which have only the vaguest connection to the actual plot. One cinematic non sequential scene is a long hand held shot panning from bottom to top of the prison, which again has little rhyme or reason. In another odd scene, which seems to be a 'What not to do' example for a film class, Helene Sommer prances hysterically about her apartment before she hallucinates, and sees the sitting figure of her imprisoned husband (a double exposed Dieterle in a scene that is oddly recalls the barge scene in 'Nosferatu'), then she wildly sprints around her apartment running into yet another apparition of Dieterle, and another...and another and another(!!??) At this point, I half expected to hear the cast of 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' to start riffing on this celluloid car crash! Another of Dieterle's touches is to show extreme facial closeups that seem to linger forever. I have no idea if these were artistic pretensions on Dieterle's part, or simply ineptness. I very much wanted to like this film. Take my word, do not waste your time on this film. Contemporary political correctness can not make a bad film good, and the fact that its a German silent by a director who later worked successfully in Hollywood, does not make it a good film. Avoid at all costs!

Despite the title "Sex in chains" this film is hardly tawdry.Taken in its historical context,the subject material is surprisingly enlightened for the time.A man imprisoned and denied the company of his wife turns to a male inmate for companionship.This and the overwhelming humiliation of his imprisonment lead to his self destruction. Any sexual relationship between the two male characters is only very slightly hinted at,never the less the intent is clear to the viewer.I believe this film along with others made in and around the 1920's were part of a movement of "social enlightenment films" made in Germany,obviously before the Nazi's took charge.This one was dealing with Prison reform.If you are a student of film or love silent movies,or just a good drama.I recommend this film.