The Joyless Street

1926 · drama

The film that brought international fame to both Pabst and Greta Garbo, THE JOYLESS STREET is a stinging indictment of the soullessness of Weimar-era Vienna. In the wake of World War I, the newly impoverished middle class becomes the prey of both black marketeers and the decadent upper classes. This whirlpool of economic ruin and moral decay is dramatized through the story of a middle-class family in decline. Garbo stars as a young woman who sells herself after her father makes a disastrous business decision. The story was considered too explosive by the Weimar government, which censored it heavily. This print is an sound era re-release 60 minutes in length,and it should be noted that the original film released was 150 minutes.