splash  Louise Brooks plays the title role — the “lost girl” — in Das Tagebuch einer Verlorenen, or Diary of a Lost Girl. The film is a sensational story of a young woman who is seduced and conceives a child, only to be sent to a home for wayward women before escaping to a brothel. Beneath its melodramatic surface, the film is a pointed social critique aimed at German society.

Diary of a Lost Girl is the second film Brooks made under the direction of G.W. Pabst. The first, Pandora’s Box, was also released in 1929. Like Pandora’s Box, this second collaboration was also based on a famous work of literature. Diary of a Lost Girl was based on the bestselling book of the same name by Margarete Böhme. At the time of its publication, one critic called it “the poignant story of a great-hearted girl who kept her soul alive amidst all the mire that surrounded her poor body.” That summation applies to the film as well.

Böhme’s book was nothing less than a literary phenomenon. First published in 1905, it was hugely popular, and continued to sell for many years. Though issued a quarter-of-a-century earlier, European movie goers in 1929 would have known its story. In fact, German, French and Polish ads for Pabst’s film emphasized its literary origins, some even noting that Böhme’s book had sold more than 1.2 million copies. Pabst’s 1929 film, in fact, was the third cinematic adaption of Böhme’s work.

Diary of a Lost Girl debuted in Berlin on October 15, 1929. By December 5, the film had been banned by the state censor and was withdrawn from circulation. After cuts were made, the ban was lifted on January 6, 1930, and the film re-released. Diary of a Lost Girl was poorly received, not only because sound was coming in and there was diminishing interest in the silent cinema, but because the film continued to be censored and cut wherever its was shown, leaving its already problematic story in shambles.

At the time of its release, the film received many negative reviews – but for reasons which sometimes had little to do with the movie. As Brooks’ biographer Barry Paris notes, some German film critics devoted their columns to savaging Böhme’s then 25 year old book. Siegfried Kracauer, a critic at the time of the film’s release, was among them. He commented on the film in his famous 1946 book, From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film, writing about the Pabst film and its literary source — “the popularity of which among the philistines of the past generation rested upon the slightly pornographic frankness with which it recounted the private life of some prostitutes from a morally elevated point of view.”

The Berlin correspondent for Variety wrote something similar, but went further: “G.W. Pabst is among the best German directors still working here but has had atrocious luck with scenarios. This one, taken from a best seller of years ago, is no exception. . . . This time he has been unfortunate in his choice of his heroine. Louise Brooks (American) is monotonous in the tragedy which she has to present.”

Though screened across Europe and in Russia, the film faded from view — and film history. Diary of a Lost Girl was not shown in the United States until the 1950s, and did not receive a theatrical release in America until the 1980s. Recent restorations, however, have brought renewed attention, and in the eyes of some critics, Diary of a Lost Girl is now considered one of the last great silent films — and the near equal of Pandora’s Box.

Diary of a Lost Girl poster

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STORY SYNOPSIS:
“The story of Thymian, the easy-going daughter of a weak-minded pharmacist, who is seduced by her father’s assistant and bears an illegitimate child. The assistant refuses to marry her and the family make her give away the child. They also place her in a correctional home for ‘fallen’ girls, which operates a strict regime. Thymian and another girl manage to escape and Thymian goes looking for her child, but finds that it has died. She seeks the address her friend gave her, which is in fact a brothel, and there she finds the wastrel young Count who has befriended her and her friend. She is taken in, dressed and encouraged to join in the drinking and partying, and ends up a prostitute. Whilst raffling herself at a party in a bar she catches sight of her father, out with his new wife and the philandering pharmacy assistant. She is overcome with shame, but cannot go to her father. She later reads of his death and that she is his heir. The young Count marries her, but when she goes to collect her inheritance she finds that the assistant has purchased the mortgage on the family business and home and is throwing her step-mother and step-siblings onto the streets. Thymian gives her all the money she has inherited so that her younger sister need never follow in her footsteps. In despair, her new husband kills himself. However, his uncle offers to take care of Thymian, and, ironically she finds herself inveigled onto the committee of ladies who run the very same correctional institution in which she was placed. Her friend has been recaptured and sent there and Thymian denounces the attitude of strictness and punishment advocating love, compassion and assistance as more effective means of correcting ‘fallen’ girls.”

PRODUCTION HISTORY:
Production took place in Germany between June 17 and July 26, 1929. Much of the film was shot in and around Berlin including in Staaken, a locality at the western rim of Berlin within the borough of Spandau. Location shooting — specifically the beach resort scenes — was done on the Baltic coast in Swinemünde (now Świnoujście in the extreme north-west of Poland).

CAST
Louise Brooks
 Thymian Henning
Fritz Rasp
 Meinert
Andrews Engelmann
 Director of the reformatory
Valeska Gert
 Director’s wife
Edith Meinhard
 Erika
Josef Rovenský
 Thymiane’s father, Karl Friedrich Henning
André Roanne
 Count Nicolas Osdorff
Sybille Schmitz
 Elisabeth, the governess
Vera Pawlowa
 Aunt Frieda
Franziska Kinz
 Meta
Arnold Korff
 Elder Count Osdorff
Siegfried Arno
 The guest (comic client at brothel)
Kurt Gerron
 Dr. Vitalis
Elisabeth Speedy Schlichter
 Tall blonde at brothel
Michael von Newlinsky
 Mustachioed client at the brothel
Hans Casparius
 Wurstmaxe, sausage vendor
Jaro Fürth
 Schutz, the notary
Sylvia Torf
 Midwife
M. Kassaskaja
 unknown role
Pierre Braunberger
 Nightclub patron (unconfirmed)
Martha von Kossatzky
 The Madame (uncredited)
Werner Krauss
 Farm manager (unconfirmed)
Juan Llossas
 Musician in nightclub (uncredited)
Jean Renoir
 Nightclub patron (unconfirmed)
Emmy Wyda
 Member of women’s committee (uncredited)
CREDITS
Studio:
 HOM Film
Production Manager:
 Heinz Landsmann
Director:
 Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Assistant Directors:
 Marc Sorkin and Paul Falkenberg
Writing Credits:
 Rudolf Leonhardt (screenplay), adapted from the book Tagebuch einer Verlorenen by Margarete Böhme
Cinematography:
 Sepp Allgeier, and Fritz Arno Wagner
Art Direction:
 Ernö Metzner and Emil Hasler
Music:
 Otto Stenzeel
Format:
 Silent – black & white
Running Time:
 8 reels, later cut – elsewhere, Sweden: 2863 meters or 139 minutes at 18 frames per second
Release Date:
 October 23, 1929 / Re-released January 6, 1930
Premiere:
 September 27, 1929 (Gartenbau-Kino in Vienna, Austria)
Country of Origin:
 Germany


ALTERNATE TITLES:
Under its German title, documented screenings of the film also took place in Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Danzig.

Outside Germany, Das Tagebuch einer Verlorenen was exhibited under the title Tres páginas de un diario (Argentina); O diário de uma perdida and Diário de uma mulher perdida and Jornal de uma perdida and Jornal de uma garota perdida (Brazil) and Diário de uma Pecadora (Brazil, 1954); Dnevnik jedne izgubljene (Croatia); Deník ztracené (Czechoslovakia) and Denník ztratenej and Dennik padleho dievcafa (Slovakia); Diario de una perdida (Ecuador); Kadotetun päiväkirja (Finland); Journal d’une fille perdue and Trois pages d’un journal (France) and Three Pages of a Daybook (France, English-language press); ΤΟ ΗΜΕΡΟΛΟΓΙΟ ΜΙΑΣ ΠΑΡΑΣΤΡΑΤΗΜΕΝΗΣ (Greece); Egy perdita naplója (Hungary); Diario di una donna perduta and Diario di una perduta and Diario di una prostituta (Italy); Diary of a Lost Soul (Japan); Das Tagebuch einer Verfuhrten and Kritušas dienasgramata and Pavestas dienas gramata (Latvia); Diario de una mujer perdida and Diario de una muchacha perdida (Mexico); Dusze bez steru and Dziennik upadley dziewczyny and Pamiętnik upadłej (Poland); Jornal de Uma Perdida (Portugal); Jurnalul unei femei pierdute (Romania); Dnevnik izgubljenke (Spain); Tres páginas de’un diario and Diari d’una perduda (Spain – Catalonia); En fallen flickas dagbok and En förlorads dagbok (Sweden); Le journal d’une fille perdue and Trois pages d’un journal (Switzerland); Bir Kadinin Guniugu and Eczacinin kizi (Turkey); Tres páginas de un diario and Diario de una perdida (Uruguay); Дневник падшей  (U.S.S.R.); Diario de una joven perdida (Venezuela).

Since the late 1950s, numerous screenings of the film have been taken place around the world, including first ever showings under the title Diary of a Lost Girl in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland), United States and elsewhere.

STATUS:
The film is extant, though some material including a downbeat final scene is likely missing forever. With the ravages of time and it’s many censorship battles, the integrity of the film is problematic. A restoration produced by the F.W. Murnau Foundation which runs one hour and fifty-two minutes attempts to recreate the version thought closest to Pabst’s intended German release. Over the years, versions of the film have been released for home video on VHS, DVD, LaserDisc, and most recently Blu-ray. The LBS recommends the KINO DVD / Blu-ray released in October, 2015.

REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES:
 Bamber, Martyn. “Diary of a Lost Girl“, Senses of Cinema, July 2004.
— website essay
Byrne,Robert. “Diary of a Lost Girl“, San Francisco Silent Film Festival, 2010.
— program essay
Ebert,Roger. “The Diary of a Lost Girl“, RogerEbert.com, March 22, 2012.
— website essay by the famed critic
Cinematary. “Cinematary Episode 359 – Diary of a Lost Girl (1929) with Thomas Gladysz of Louise Brooks Society.” July 9, 2021.
— video podcast on YouTube

TRIVIA: about the film

–– Diary of a Lost Girl made its German debut in Berlin on October 15, 1929. By December 5, the film had been banned by the German state censor and was withdrawn from circulation. After cuts were made, the ban was lifted on January 6, 1930. In this censored form, it played across Europe and the Soviet Union. One cine-club in Madrid screened it as late as 1933. Diary of a Lost Girl was not screened in the United States until the 1950s.

— Pabst’s Diary of a Lost Girl was the third film adaption of Böhme’s bestselling book. The first was directed by Fritz Bernhardt in 1912. The second was directed by Richard Oswald in 1918. Both are considered lost films. The second version starred Erna Morena as Thymian, Reinhold Schünzel as Osdorff, Werner Krauss as Meinert, and Conrad Veidt as Dr. Julius. The film was well reviewed, but demands of the wartime censor led to cuts and even a change in its title. Once censorship was lifted after the end of WWI, scenes thought too provocative or critical of society were put back and its title restored.

— Along with Oswald’s Diary of a Lost Girl, the year 1918 also saw the release of a film based on the sequel to Böhme’s book, Dida Ibsen’s Geschichte. Also directed by Richard Oswald, the part of Dida Ibsen was played by the infamous German dancer, actress, and “performance artist” Anita Berber, with Krauss and Veidt reprising their roles. The film is extant, and was shown in Bologna in 2011.

— Elisabeth, the departing housekeeper, is played by Sybille Schmitz. She was a prominent German actress of the 30’s, and something of a tragic figure. She drank, had multiple affairs, struggled with addiction, and ended up committing suicide in 1955. The downward spiral her life took after the second World War inspired the Fassbinder film, Veronika Voss.

— The elder Count Osdorff is played by Arnold Korff. He was an Austrian stage and film actor who counted James Joyce among his friends. Korff also knew Frank Wedekind and Karl Krauss; one of Korff’s earliest roles was in the first stage production of Pandora’s Box in 1905.

— The tall blonde sitting with the young Count in the brothel is actress Elisabeth Schlichter, also known as “Speedy”. In life, she sometimes worked as a prostitute and was married to Rudolf Schlichter, an important Dada artist and key member of the New Objectivity movement — to which Pabst’s film-making was allied.

— The sausage vendor, who we first see out on the street and who leads Thymian to the brothel, is played by Hans Casparius. He had a bit part in Pandora’s Box, but is best known as a German photographer of the twenties and thirties who was noted for his street photography.

— Otto Stenzeel (1903-1989) is credited for the music for Diary of a Lost Girl. He composed music for films from 1926 through 1930; among his best known efforts is the music for Menschen am Sonntag / People on Sunday (1930). In the 1930’s under the name Otto Stenzel, he led the orchestra at the Berlin Scala, one of the largest revue theaters in Germany. He also led his own swing-style dance band and made a number of recordings, including a Tango with with the Spanish-born Juan Llossas, who has an uncredited role in Diary of a Lost Girl as the leader of the small combo playing in the corner of the nightclub.

— In 1961, John Huston was beginning work on a biopic about Sigmund Freud. In an archive of correspondence about the film, Huston’s longtime assistant Ernie Anderson wrote to the director that Sigmund Freud had no involvement with the making of Diary of a Lost Girl.