As reclusive, mountain-dwelling inventor "Mr. Radio," Italian-born silent film star Luciano Albertini wowed audiences with impressive stunts against the breathtaking backdrop of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. After rescuing a group of stranded mountain climbers, he must then confront civilization and his own past. The documentary Mit dem Motorrad über die Wolken (A Motorcycle Trip Among the Clouds) also features sensational mountain footage and audacious acrobatics on moving vehicles. It recounts the journey of a group of young daredevils who set off from Austria on their motorcycles to ascend the Tofane peaks in the Dolomites at an altitude of 3200 meters.
The films
Mister Radio - Germany 1924 - Directed by: Nunzio Malasomma - Written by: Ernest Bouthley - Cinematography by: Willy Großstück, Edoardo (Edward) Lamberti - Cast: Luciano Albertini, Agnes Nero, Magnus Stifter, Evi Eva, Fred Immler, Annie Gorilowa, Robert Scholz, Angelo Rossi, Mario Fossati - Produced by: Phoebus-Film A.G., Berlin - Premiere: September 5,1924 (Bafag-Theater am Kudamm, Berlin)
Mit dem Motorrad über die Wolken - Austria 1926 - Directed by: Lothar Rübelt - Cinematography by: Franz Sochor - With: Lothar Rübelt, Anton Pospischil, "Fräulein Hansi", Ekkehard Rübelt,Franz Sochor, Fritz Stühler - Produktion: Mondial-Film, Wien - Premiere: January 23, 1927 (Flottenkino Vienna)
Das Motorrad-Bahnrennen des Ö.M.V. - Austria 1927 - Directed by: Gustav Mayer - With: Leopold Dirtl, Ing. Ferdinand Eichler, Michael Gayer, Rupert Karner, Rudolf Runtsch, Martin Schneeweiss
About Mister Radio
In 1936, Austrian journalist Hans Taussig described the former silent movie star Luciano Albertini (1882-1945) as "a brand the likes of which can hardly still be found today." Between 1921 and 1930, the actor, artiste, and athlete played the lead in no less than 18 German feature films. Suspense, breathtaking speed, a plethora of daredevilish stunts and superhuman feats (often playing out against the backdrop of picturesque outdoor shooting locations), an ample portion of self-deprecating humor and - last but not least - a love story with the obligatory happy ending: This was the winning formula of Albertini's films. Mister Radio (1924) was the first in a series of three collaborations with the director Nunzio Malasomma (18931973), who made his German directorial debut with the film. The film's plot revolves around a solitary inventor named Gaston de Montfort, who lives in seclusion with his mother in a remote mountain cabin. Because of his cutting-edge research into radio waves, the locals have nicknamed him "Mister Radio." The title and the plot both reference radio (a brand new and much-discussed medium in Germany) and the social phenomena of "radio mania." In Mister Radio, spectacular stunts outweigh the simple plot structure and occasional shortcomings of the screenplay typical of Albertini's films. A prime example is the dramatically staged presentation of De Monfort's latest invention that utilizes radio waves to prevent train crashes. De Monfort literally puts his life on the line in order to demonstrate to potential backers that his invention works. Other key examples are the breathtaking mountaintop rescue scenes that bookend the narrative. The picturesque landscape of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains near Rathen, majestically captured by Albertini's regular camera operator Edoardo Lamberti and Willy Großstück, was one of the star's favorite shooting locations and served in many of his films - from Der Schlucht des Todes (1923) to Der Unüberwindliche (1928) - as the ideal backdrop for his death-defying feats.
Oliver Hanley, Anke Mebold
DVD features
- Mister Radio 1924, 78'
- Score by Bernd Thewes
- Mit dem Motorrad über die Wolken 1926, 47'
- Score by Elaine Loebenstein
- Das Motorrad-Bahnrennen des Ö.M.V. 1927, 11'
- Score by Elaine Loebenstein
- 20-page bilingual booklet with texts by Oliver Hanley, Anke Mebold, Janneke van Dalen and Nadja ičarov
Edited by: Österreichisches Filmmuseum
DVD authoring: Tobias Dressel
DVD supervision: Janneke van Dalen, Eszter Kondor
First edition January 2024
