<i>Gold (1934)</i>

GERMAN FILM INSTITUTE <br>The Cinema of Crisis: German Film 1928-1936

The science fiction film, Gold, predicts the postwar harnessing of atomic energy for the purposes of scientific progress. It tells the story of Dr. Achenbach, a modern-day alchemist devoted to finding a method of changing lead into gold, and his assistant, Werner Holk. Achenbach constructs a gigantic atomic reactor for that purpose, but crass commercialism soon rears its ugly head. The experiment gets sabotaged by an unscrupulous tycoon and Achenbach dies in the ensuing explosion. Holk, after recovering from his injuries, takes it upon himself to find the saboteur and clear Achenbach’s name.
[Sources: filmportal.de, IMDB.com, allmovie.com] br> 35mm, 103 min.
German Film Institute pages