Run Time: 85 minutes. Studio: Deutsche Bioscop GmbH. Director: Stellan Rye. Writer: Hanns Heinz Ewers. Producer: Paul Wegener. Main Cast: Paul Wegener, Grete Berger, Lyda Salmonova, Johthen Gottowt. Cinematographer: Guido Seeber.
Though this movie is not an adaption of any one story it does combine elements of famous stories. These include Edgar Allan Poe's William Wilson, the legend of Faust and Alfred de Musset's La Nuit de Décembre. Our main character is a young student named Balduin (Paul Wegener). Despite his incredible fencing skills, the character feels out of place due to the fact that he is not rich like so many others around him. However when a mysterious stranger (John Gottowt) appears he offers Balduin, great riches. There is of course one catch, the stranger may take anything he likes out of Balduin's room. This may sound too good to be true and it is. The possession the stranger takes is Balduin's reflection out of the mirror. Naturally things go downhill from here.
Comparing this movie to the 1926 remake, it is easy to see the changes in filmmaking over only 13 years. This movie requires more attention on the part of the viewer and therefore will not be as easily accessible to those who are new to silent film (who may have trouble following the story). That is not to say this movie is in any ways primitive, because it is far from it and if you give this film the attention it needs you will find it holds up very well. One thing that will immediately strike you as you watch this film is how visually rich it is. Guido Seeber's cinematography is fantastic and makes this movie hard to look away from. Though silent movies are often thought of as black and white, many used color tinting, where a whole scene would be tinted a certain color. This is used to its full effect here and it not only looks beautiful but it enhances the story as well. The use of color tinting brings us further into the emotion and atmosphere of the film and therefore enhances one's emotional connection to the story. Though this movie is probably not going to keep any fans of modern horror films up at night, it is very effective. The whole movie gives off a creepy and unsettling vibe that will make even modern horror fans a little uneasy. The climax is especially creepy (even if the remake did this scene even better) and will stay in one's mind well after the movie is finished.
When a film buff thinks of any horror movies made in Germany during the silent era, their mind quickly goes to a movement that is known as German Expressionism. (This is mainly due to two very famous films, Noseratu (1922) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). German Expressionism was a movement not only in film but in other art forms such as painting. It is defined by moving away from realism and towards something that visually represents the inner emotions of the characters and the story. While it would be incorrect to call this German horror movie an example of German Expressionism, there is little doubt that it shares some distinct similarities with the later movement. This has lead this movie to often be labeled as a forerunner to German Expressionism. There are also some key differences. One of these is that the setting for the film is presented in a decidedly more realistic manner. We are supposed to easy accept this as a real place that could have easily existed and one which the supernatural and expressionistic elements are supposed to feel out of place in order to create a more uneasy feeling.
This film's star and producer Paul Wegener would make a large impact on the world of horror movies. He would direct three monster movies known today as the Golem Trilogy (1915, 1917,1920), all of which would have a major impact on James Whale's Frankenstein (1930). He would also star in Rex Ingram's silent horror film, The Magician (1926). Later in his career he would appear in Nazi propaganda films while he secretly gave money to resistance movements and would harbor fugitives from the Nazis. His costar, John Gottowt was Jewish and when the Nazis got in power would be banned from the German entertainment industry and would be murdered by the party in 1942. The movie's director, Stellan Rye was just beginning his movie career at this time. Unfortunately it proved to be a very short career as he would die a year later. As war broke out, he would join and die in 1914 as a POW. The movie's screenwriter Hanns Heinz Ewers was a popular horror author at this time. He would later be initially attracted by the Nazi party's sense of nationalism and would join in 1931. However he became critical of the party's anti-Semitism and this and him having homosexual tendencies landed him on the wrong side of the party and his books were banned in Germany by 1934.
This movie can be found on YouTube for anyone interested.
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