Synopsis
"The 3 Penny Opera" (1931) is a landmark of Weimar cinema — watch it online on iFILM. Director G.W. Pabst adapted Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's stage work for the screen, keeping the argument intact: crime and commerce operate on the same logic, just with different paperwork.
Mack the Knife (Rudolf Forster) runs the London underworld with an ease that reads as confidence. When he marries Polly Peachum (Carola Neher) without her father's blessing, he picks up a problem: Polly's father (Reinhold Schünzel) commands the city's beggars, knows every constable, and doesn't forgive slights. Lotte Lenya plays Jenny, reprising her role from the original Berlin production. Pabst shot simultaneous German and French versions — both released the same year.
Brecht later sued over the adaptation, claiming Pabst had softened the material. The film's edges are still sharp enough. Stream "The 3 Penny Opera" online on iFILM.
Starring
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