An early effort that mines the territory Dr. Arnold Fanck would exploit so successfully with his mountain adventure movies, Die weisse Wuste (aka The White Desert) (1922), directed by Ernst Wendt with Ejnar Stier, tells the tale of a corrupt shipowner who not only sabotages his own ship for the insurance money but has creepy designs on his new housemaid to boot. He gives his his old girl the air and she ends up on the ship being held prisoner by the equally lusty captain who has also shanghaied two friends for their trip to the arctic. When the vessel hits an iceberg the unlikely group must find their way back to civilization.
Produced by prominent animal dealer John Hagenbeck, his menagerie gets a thorough workout with a host of geographically challenged bears and foxes plaguing the group along the way. Wendt did a lot of work with animal films around this time so I wonder if he and Hagenbeck collaborated on more than this one. It's definitely of the era but while the animals are not treated to current standards they do have the decency to use guys-in-bear-suits for the heavy stuff. Technically fine the film moves right along in what must have been difficult conditions. The story is satisfying if not covering any new dramatic ground.
Filmmuseum Munchen restoration has rescued most of it, with a few sections heavily deteriorated but watchable and a couple others requiring title card filler but it is, overall, a lovely transfer. Worth seeing particularly if you enjoy German 'mountain' movies as this is a primal example that helps set the parameters for the genre.
