The Golem (1915)

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Movie
Original title The golem
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1915
Rod
Director Paul Wegener
Heinrich Galeen
script Paul Wegener
Heinrich Galeen
production Paul Wegener for Deutsche Bioscop GmbH Berlin
camera Guido Seeber
occupation

The Golem is a German silent film made in 1914 with Paul Wegener in the title role. Directed by Wegener and Heinrich Galeen .

action

In the old Jewish quarter of Prague , construction workers are digging a shaft for a well when they make a discovery. It's a huge statue that was once made from clay. You bring this massive, earth-colored colossus to a Jewish junk dealer, who soon realizes what he has in front of him. The second-hand dealer takes out an old book and speaks a magic formula of Rabbi Loew to bring the clay creature to life.

The stupid colossus that moves clumsily and awkwardly is the golem . First of all, it serves the second-hand trader in his poor dwelling, also for heavy work, such as forging red-hot iron. One day the golem falls in love with the second-hand dealer's daughter, but she doesn't reciprocate his feelings at all. She feels repulsed by the clumsy giant and is afraid of him. Rather, the heart of the second-hand dealer belongs to a count. The moment the golem realizes its non-human origin and also recognizes the hopelessness of its love, it mutates into a destructive monster. Even a knife rammed into his chest cannot destroy him.

There is a showdown at a summer festival in which the second-hand dealer's daughter and her count also take part. When the clay colossus appears, the party guests jump in horror over the veranda balustrade of the villa and run for their lives through the property's extensive gardens. The girl and the count run away too, the golem on their necks. Completely out of breath, they reach a building. You enter and run up the stairs to the top of the roof terrace. But a little later the golem caught up with them. With outstretched arms he rushes at the count to kill the competitor. Only the courageous intervention of the second-hand seller's daughter commanded the mad to stop. She rushes against him and the golem falls into the depths, where he remains motionless on the ground. Finally, breathless, the old second-hand seller reaches the roof terrace and takes his daughter in his arms.

Production notes

This production by Deutsche Bioscop GmbH Berlin was the first of the three Golem films in which Paul Wegener was involved as an actor or director between 1914 and 1920. The Golem, How He Came Into the World, published six years later , describes the prehistory of the film.

The golem passed film censorship on December 22, 1914 and was premiered on January 14, 1915 at UT Kurfürstendamm in Berlin. The length of the film, which was banned from young people, was 1250 meters (five acts). Today it is only preserved in fragments.

The film was shot in the Bioscop studios in Neubabelsberg , the outdoor shots were shot in Hildesheim .

The film structures and the costumes are from Rochus Gliese . The sculptor Rudolf Belling created the golem figure.

The 'scholar's study' on the Bioscop open-air site in Neubabelsberg was combined with a street film construction in order to achieve interesting camera positions.

criticism

Reclam's film guide writes: "The film lives mainly from Wegener's acting and from the gloomy atmosphere of narrow streets and winding houses, a nightmarish milieu in which the uncanny took shape."

Kay Wenigers In life, more is taken from you than given ... reminds of the film-historical significance of Der Golem for the film genre it fueled: “'The Golem', written and staged by Galeen and with the imposing 'Student of Prague' star Paul Wegener ideally cast in the title role was not only the first of a remarkable series of other 'Golem' films worldwide, it also marked the birth of the 'horror film' genre and was also the forefather of all 'Frankenstein' productions. "

Bucher's encyclopedia of the film finds: Wegener's "feeling for the dramatic effectiveness of underplaying, especially as a golem, anticipated an essential element of Boris Karloff's design of the Frankenstein monster."

literature

  • Christiane Mückenberger: The Golem. In: Günther Dahlke, Günter Karl (Hrsg.): German feature films from the beginning to 1933. A film guide. 2nd Edition. Henschel-Verlag, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-89487-009-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Henrik Galeen called himself Heinrich at that time.
  2. ^ Gerhard Lamprecht : German silent films. 1913-1914. Deutsche Kinemathek eV, Berlin 1969, p. 400.
  3. ^ Dieter Krusche, Jürgen Labenski : Reclams film guide. Reclam, Stuttgart 1973, ISBN 3-15-010205-7 , p. 65.
  4. ↑ Kay Less : "In life, more is taken from you than given ...". Lexicon of filmmakers who emigrated from Germany and Austria between 1933 and 1945. A general overview. Acabus-Verlag, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-86282-049-8 , p. 181.
  5. ↑ Liz-Anne Bawden (ed.): Buchers Enzyklopädie des Films. Edition of the German edition by Wolfram Tichy. CJ Bucher, Luzern et al. 1977, ISBN 3-7658-0231-X , p. 849.