The Sacred Flame (1931 film)

{{Infobox film

| name = The Sacred Flame

| image = The Sacred Flame (1931 film).jpg

| caption =

| director = {{ubl|William Dieterle|Berthold Viertel}}

| producer = Henry Blanke

| based_on = The Sacred Flame by Somerset Maugham

| writer = {{ubl|Heinrich Fraenkel|Berthold Viertel}}

| narrator =

| starring = {{ubl|Gustav Fröhlich|Dita Parlo|Hans Heinrich von Twardowski}}

| music =

| cinematography = Frank Kesson

| editing =

| studio = Warner Brothers

| distributor = Deutsche First National Pictures

| released = {{Film date|1931|05|05}}

| runtime = 86 minutes

| country = United States

| language = German

| budget =

| gross =

}}

The Sacred Flame (German: Die heilige Flamme) is a lost 1931 American drama film directed by William Dieterle and Berthold Viertel and starring Gustav Fröhlich, Dita Parlo and Hans Heinrich von Twardowski. It was made by Warner Brothers as a German-language remake of the studio's 1929 film The Sacred Flame.{{cite book|last1=Waldman|first1=Harry|title=Missing reels : lost films of American and European cinema|date=2000|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, NC [u.a.]|isbn=0-7864-0724-7|pages=83|chapter=Germany}}{{cite book|last1=Waldman|first1=Harry|last2=Slide|first2=Anthony|title=Hollywood and the Foreign Touch: A Dictionary of Foreign Filmmakers and Their Films from America, 1910-1995|year=1996|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810831926|page=133|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vo8Zh1r99SsC&q=The+Sacred+Flame+(1931+film)&pg=PA133|language=en}} It is based upon the 1928 play of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham.

Synopsis

After newly married Stella's husband is badly injured in a plane crash, causing him to lose the use of his legs, she becomes emotionally involved with his brother.

Reception

Rudolf Arnheim said "It is incomprehensible how such a film can be launched in a large cinema, rather than being chastely hidden away from the eyes of any kind of criticism."{{cite book|last1=Arnheim|first1=Rudolf|last2=translated by Benthien|first2=Brenda|title=Film essays and criticism|date=1997|publisher=Wis.|location=Madison|isbn=0299152642|pages=164–165}}