Don’t Promise Me Anything

Also known as Promise Me Nothing, this labyrinthine drama was adapted from a long-running stage play by Thea von Harbou of Metropolis and Dr. Mabuse fame. Viktor de Kowa stars as impoverished artist Martin Pratt, who is so preoccupied by his work that he fails to notice that his wife Monika is literally starving to death. Making matters worse, Martin cares nothing for money, refusing to sell his paintings because he feels they aren't yet good enough for public consumption. In desperation, Monika pretends that Martin's painting were completed by her, thereby allowing her to peddle them on her own. Soon, of course, Monika is being hailed as the foremost artistic genius of the age -- while Martin, seething with jealousy, but too proud to expose his wife as a fraud, retreats further and further into himself. Eventually, Monika's conscience gets the better of her, and she confesses that the paintings were the handiwork of her husband. Rather amazingly, this leads to a happy ending for both hero and heroine, indicating that anything's possible in the movies.