Silent Film of the Month: Fear (1917)

 

Run Time: 72 minutes. Studio: Messter Film. Director: Robert Wiene. Writer: Robert Wiene.  Producer: Oskar Messter Main Cast: Bruno Decarli, Bernhard Goetzke, Hermann Picha, Mechthildis Thein, Conrad Veidt. Art Director: Ludwig Kainer.

Silent movie fans will associate the names Robert Wiene and Conrad Veidt with the classic horror film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). Caligari is one of the most famous movies of the silent era and a landmark in the history of horror films. Caligari did not mark the first time director Wiene and actor Veidt worked together. They had previously worked on the underrated silent movie Fear. 

In this film Count Greven steals an idol from the Indian temple of Djaba. After returning home, he lives racked in guilt and fear. One day the High Priest of the temple magical appears on his castle grounds and gives Greven seven years to live. 

This movie has often been referred to as a horror film. While I doubt this movie will scare anyone today or whether it even scared people back in 1917, it is a very well told ghost story. Robert Wiene is only known today for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and many historians and scholars dismiss the rest of his work. However, this movie shows that even outside of that one classic, Wiene was a very capable director. This movie is wonderfully atmospheric. While it may not scare us, the sense of atmosphere and dread haunts us in a different way. The main character is also very well handled and his descent into madness is quite effective. The movie may not have the memorable stylized look of Caligari, but it shares many of the same themes and these themes are explored with the same care and intelligence. 

This film is also boosted by the performances. Of course, Conrad Veidt is fantastic as always. He is an actor that all movie lovers should be familiar with being most famous not only for his role in Caligari but also his memorable turn as Major Strasser in Casablanca (1942). He is an actor who has the ability to elevate any film he is in. In his role as the High Priest, he brings a wonderfully otherworldly feel to this character. Bruno Decarli's (who also appeared in other Robert Wiene movies such as The Wandering Light (1916), The Man in the Mirror (1917) and Life Is a Dream (1917)) acting style can be a little over the top but for a character like Count Greven, this works quite well. This style of acting perfectly suits this character's descent into madness. 

I am not saying that this is a masterpiece of German cinema, but it definitely doesn't deserve its obscurity. 

This movie is sadly not available on DVD, Blu-Ray or streaming and to my knowledge has never played on TCM. It can however be watched on YouTube, which you can do below. 

-Michael J. Ruhland