The Sinner was heralded by a storm of publicity regarding its director Willi Forst (Austrian director and actor of mostly charming comedies and musicals) and its young pretty star Hildergarde Neff. The film was Forst's second effort since 1943, and as such it was highly anticipated. The film was also Neff's last German production before her "new" career in Hollywood. According to most contemporary reviews, The Sinner was considered unworthy of Forst's and Neff's talents, though this may have been a negative reaction to the publicity blitz. The film casts its star as a young girl who is no better than she ought to be, but whose good intentions outweigh her bad impulses.
SPOILERS: Believing she has finally found true love in the form of an artist (Gustav Frolich of Metropolis fame), the girl is in for a major disappointment when her lover begins behaving erratically due to a brain tumor. The spectacularly tragic ending to this sorry little tale, coupled with a handful of highly censurable love scenes (nude paintings and one at a distance nude posing), seriously impaired any chances for The Sinner to achieve box-office success in the U.S.
But if you like the genre of romantic tragedy it falls into the same class as Mayerling (1936) and Liebelei (1933, directed by an uncredited Max Ophuls) and it's later remake Christine (1958).
SPOILERS: Believing she has finally found true love in the form of an artist (Gustav Frolich of Metropolis fame), the girl is in for a major disappointment when her lover begins behaving erratically due to a brain tumor. The spectacularly tragic ending to this sorry little tale, coupled with a handful of highly censurable love scenes (nude paintings and one at a distance nude posing), seriously impaired any chances for The Sinner to achieve box-office success in the U.S.
But if you like the genre of romantic tragedy it falls into the same class as Mayerling (1936) and Liebelei (1933, directed by an uncredited Max Ophuls) and it's later remake Christine (1958).