CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Arts & Letters

Colibri (film)

1924 film by Victor Janson

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 28, 2026
Entity authorityQ21869251 ↗
Source-derived summary

Colibri is a 1924 German silent film directed by Victor Janson and starring Ossi Oswalda and Bruno Kastner.

The film's sets were designed by the art director Jacek Rotmil.

Cast

Ossi Oswalda as Colibri

Victor Janson as Boddy

Bruno Kastner as Reginald

Franz Egenieff as Percy F. Barrymore

Mara Markhoff as Magda

Paul Bildt as Stadnicky, Clown

Hans Junkermann as Tomaselli, Zirkusdirektor

Lydia Potechina as Arabella, seine Frau

Reinhold Hintze as Samson, Athlet

Hans Lipschütz as Marcus

M.O. Schiller as Löw

Hugo Döblin as Samuel, Althändler

Wilhelm Chandron as Wilcox, Laboratoriumsgehilfe

Erich Walter as Karmanoff, ein Russe

Tschunka Tschen as Dr. Yokito, ein Japaner

Plot

Synopsis

Colibri is a 1924 German silent comedy film that follows the story of a street girl known only as "Colibri," who is exploited by her protector, the burly occasional thief Boddy, for his petty crimes, including thefts where she acts as a decoy. This leads to frequent run-ins with the police. The rich benefactor Mr. Barrymore encounters Colibri and, inspired by a Pygmalion-like transformation, decides to take her under his wing, educating her to become a proper lady and integrating her into high society. Colibri's life changes dramatically, but Boddy refuses to relinquish his useful accomplice. When another theft—of important documents—is pinned on Colibri, she flees the Barrymore estate in shame, joins a traveling circus, and rises to stardom as a variety performer. Further pursuits by authorities force her to flee again, leading to a series of turbulent events.

Editorial summary

“Colibri (film)” enters the record as 1924 film by Victor Janson. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Colibri, film and Victor can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1924—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1924-03. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Colibri, film and Victor.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Colibri (film)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Colibri, film and Victor provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q21869251. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1924.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Colibri (film)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Colibri (film) primary sources, Colibri (film) archive and Colibri research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Colibri (film)”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Colibri (film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.