Writing
A short, cautionary tale of emigrating to America.
The early 20th century. A flood strikes a large American city on the banks of the Mississippi River. In a certain bar, several people find themselves trapped together in a small space, caught in a torrential downpour. They learn from weather reports that the storm has destroyed the dam and floodwaters have submerged much of the city. A rumor spreads that everyone taking refuge in the bar is doomed to die. Faced with the imminent danger, strange transformations occur in the people: wealthy cynics and grumbling bankrupts turn into individuals capable of empathy and love. In the final hours of their lives, they seek to be kinder, to care for each other. But when the threat of the flood dissipates, everything returns to the way it was...
This is the German-language version of 1930's "The Way of All Men", shot by Warner Bros. in Hollywood with a German-speaking cast.
A variety of broad-painted and unlikely characters are trapped in an underground café when a Mississippi River levee breaks and causes flood havoc above and below.
Stratton's café is a popular place with the people of Cottonia, a wealthy cotton town on the banks of the Mississippi, installs flood-proof doors as a safeguard against an overflow of the river; when a flood comes, it appears that the entire town will be submerged. Trapped in Stratton's cafe, amongst others, are Billy Bear, a young broker, and Poppy, a chorus girl with whom he has been in love.
