In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

196 ARRAYS
stantly on the verge of explosion; at the same time, they prevent this
explosion from occurring.
Nevertheless, the revue as a genre occupies only a marginal place in
Kracauer's analysis, whose main reference point is the movie theater. As
a live show, the revue cannot compete financially with the film industry,
which yields a much higher return on investment; and despite the admirable
achievements of revues' producers, stage directors, actors, and
dancers, the new technical medium of motion pictures has far greater
potential for pushing the surface impressions of speed and condensation
to new limits. While revues may succeed briefly in "intercepting ... the
departing audience, which is streaming from the stage to the cinema"
(Jelavich, 168), the transitional status of the genre is apparent in the fact
that many of the former theaters which revues have occupied for several
years are now being transformed into movie palaces. Toward the end of
the year, James Klein loses ownership of the Komische Oper through
bankruptcy, and Erik Charell begins to plan a new type of show, which
he calls the "revue-operetta" (Jelavich, 186).
Related Entries
Assembly Lines, Bars, Dancing, Employees, Gomina, Jazz, Movie Palaces,
Roof Gardens, Stars, Telephones, Authenticity vs. Artificiality,
Male vs. Female, Present vs. Past, Sobriety vs. Exuberance, Action =
Impotence (Tragedy), Center = Periphery (Infinitude), Male = Female
(Gender Trouble)
References
8 Uhr-Abendblatt.
Les Annees-memoire: 1926. Paris, 1988.
Gunter Berghaus, "Girlkultur: Feminism, Americanism, and Popular Entertainment
in Weimar Germany." Journal of Design History 1 (1988): 193-219.
Berliner Borsen-Zeitung.
Claude Berton, "Reflexions sur Ie Music-Hall." La Revue de Paris 6 (1929):
653-675.
Wolfgang Carle and Heinrich Martens, Kinder, wie die Zeit vergeht: Eine Historie
des Friedrichstadt-Palastes Berlin. Berlin, 1987.