The fool's castle
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The fool's castle |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1919 |
| length | approx. 81 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Paul von Woringen |
| script |
Jan Gramatzki based on a literary model by Richard Kühle |
| production | Lotte Neumann |
| occupation | |
| |
Das Narrenschloß is a German silent film melodrama from 1919 by Paul von Woringen with Lotte Neumann in the leading role.
action
The painter Rolf Sanders accepts his father's invitation and stays with him for a long time. When he looks out the window the next morning, he discovers a castle-like structure that is popularly known as “The Fool's Castle”. The artist is immediately awakened in him, because the mighty building is an excellent motif for his canvas. The old Baroness von Warniggen and daughter Margot reside in the castle, who is held almost like a prisoner by the old woman. Rolf gains entry and wants to start painting here immediately. Margot desperately wants to get to know the stranger and therefore disguises herself as a maid in order not to be recognized as the damsel of the castle. It happens as it has to: both fall in love, and believing that Margot is the castle's own maid, he follows her urgent request to take her with him when he leaves the castle walls. When Margot can no longer be found after Rolf's departure, the confusion in the fool's castle is great. Only the housemaid has remorse as well as a clue about Margot's whereabouts and tells her mother about the daughter.
Another central event in history is a court decision according to which the long-missing husband of the old lady is now finally declared dead. As a universal heiress to the baron, she has thus gained some power over Margot, who will ultimately be the next heiress. On the advice of her notary, the lady travels with her servant to the next big city, where Margot is suspected, in order to find the girl again with the help of the authorities. You're in luck, because Margot was recently spotted with Rolf in a café. The residence of Rolf is determined, and the baroness drives over to him and confronts Rolf that he had kidnapped her daughter. Rolf, who still believed Margot's fairy tale about the maid, was thunderous. He can convince Frau von Warniggen that he actually never had the opportunity to be officially introduced to Margot during his stay at the Fool's Castle, and he reveals the whereabouts of her daughter to the mother.
When the two meet again, there is a serious argument. Through the years of excessive mothering, Margot has become quite dependent and finally gives in to the will to return to the fool's castle. However, the baroness is so overwhelmed by the nervous strain of the past few days that she is thrown onto the sick bed and soon dies without having made her will beforehand. The hunchbacked relatives therefore assume that Margot has disposed of an unpleasant will, and quarrels about inheritance arise. In a subsequent process, this begins to take an unpleasant, highly dramatic turn for Margot. At this time, Rolf is a solid moral anchor. At the last moment the father, who was believed to be dead, reappears and claims to have been held by a native African tribe! The actual castle owner has now returned and the legal proceedings have become irrelevant. Margot and Rolf can now turn to their young happiness.
Production notes
The Narrenschloß was created in the Mutoskop-Film-Atelier in Berlin-Lankwitz , was 1678 meters (new censorship 1921), divided into five acts, long, was banned from young people and had its world premiere in July 1919 in Berlin's Biophontheater.
criticism
“Lotte Neumann never fails, if you give her the opportunity to develop her skills in all directions, then of course her success is inevitable. This time Karl Beckersachs is her partner, whose fresh cheerfulness provides a pleasant counterbalance to Lotte Neumann's sentimental softness. The film has strong moments that will make it a success everywhere. The direction put emphasis on a good visual effect and created a nice feature film ... "