Das Panzergewölbe (The Armored Vault). 1926. Germany. Directed by Lupu Pick. With Mary Nolan (billed as Imogene Robertson), Ernst Reicher, Johannes Riemann. 35mm. 108 min.
Though Mary Nolan’s career in Germany as “Imogene Robertson” is virtually unknown territory in this country, she appeared in nine films in 1926 alone. Dames, Janes, Dolls, and Canaries includes a rare screening of one such film, the sole silent in the series: The Armored Vault. Directed by Lupu Pick, who also died far too young, it was billed as a melodrama about a ring of counterfeiters. Presented in a print with a new intertitle translation from MoMA, this screening will likely count as only the second time the film has ever been shown in New York. It was previously screened at the 55th Street Playhouse, “with a specially prepared synchronised accompaniment and sound effects,” in November 1928.