Northern Silents: The Woman Men Yearn For

Northern Silents presents **“The Woman Men Yearn For”**—a dazzling escape into the heart of 1920s Weimar cinema. In this rare silent gem, Marlene Dietrich lights the screen in her final role before the arrival of sound, delivering a performance of stillness, intensity, and the quiet allure that would soon crown her legacy. The story follows Henri, a young man adrift, who marries a wealthy heiress to save his family’s business. On the eve of their honeymoon, he catches a fleeting, spell‑binding glimpse of a mysterious woman through a frosted train window—the spark that sets a chain of passion, betrayal, and disaster into motion. Based on the novel by Kafka’s editor Max Brod, this exquisitely crafted drama slipped past critics and audiences in 1929 when the world rushed toward sound. Filmed just months before *The Blue Angel*, it captures the instant Dietrich’s star truly began to burn. The evening opens with music and film evoking the restless spirit of interwar Germany—a world where creativity blazed against uncertainty. Jonny Best, the silent‑film pianist and founder of Northern Silents, improvises a live soundtrack, accompanied by Trevor Bartlett on percussion. Together, they are among the UK’s leading silent‑film musicians, having performed at Leeds Film Festival since 2015. Join us for this unforgettable journey back to a forgotten chapter of cinema history, where passion ignites on a frosted train window and an actress’s powerful silence steals the show. Details & tickets.