The Shadow of a Mine

The Shadow of a Mine
Directed by	Phil Jutzi
Written by	Léo Lania
Starring	Holmes Zimmermann Sybille Schloß
Cinematography	Phil Jutzi
Production companies	Weltfilm Volksfilmverband
Release date	16 March 1929 (1929-03-16)
Country	Germany
Languages	Silent German intertitles

The Shadow of a Mine is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Phil Jutzi and starring Holmes Zimmermann and Sybille Schloß. Its original German title is Um's tägliche Brot (Our Daily Bread). It is also known as Hunger in Waldenburg.

The film was produced by the left-wing Volksfilmverband in partnership with Weltfilm and the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm. Using a docudrama format, the film highlights the hardships faced by Silesian coal miners in Waldenburg. It premiered at the Tauenzienpalast in Berlin on 16 March 1929.

The film was screened in Britain by the London Workers' Film Society in December 1929. This is now the only print of the film which survives.

Plot summary

The film centers on the interconnected lives of coal miners and their families in the economically depressed region of Waldenburg, Silesia. The story begins by establishing the dire living conditions in the mining community, where families struggle to afford basic necessities despite the dangerous and backbreaking work performed by the men underground.

The protagonist, young Weber (Holmes Zimmermann), represents the new generation of workers caught between traditional labor practices and the changing industrial landscape of the late 1920s. As the narrative unfolds, Weber witnesses firsthand the devastating effects of mine accidents, wage cuts, and the constant threat of unemployment that hangs over the community like a shadow.

The film's dramatic tension builds as the miners face a crisis when the mine owners announce further reductions in wages and benefits, pushing the already impoverished families to the brink of starvation. This forces the workers to confront the difficult choice between accepting deteriorating conditions or risking everything through collective action and strikes.

Through Weber's journey, the audience experiences the moral and practical dilemmas faced by working-class families: the struggle between individual survival and collective solidarity, the tension between accepting exploitation and fighting for dignity, and the harsh reality of choosing between a dangerous job and no job at all. The film culminates in the workers' decision to organize and demand their rights, despite the personal and economic risks involved.

Cast

• Holmes Zimmermann as Junger Weber
• Sybille Schloß

Bibliography

• Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema. Berghahn Books, 2009.
• Murray, Bruce Arthur. Film and the German Left in the Weimar Republic: From Caligari to Kuhle Wampe. University of Texas Press, 1990.

External links

• The Shadow of a Mine at IMDb