Scary Tales (1919)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
Original title Scary stories
Scene from the film "Weird Stories" (1919) .png
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 1919
length 101 minutes
Rod
Director Richard Oswald
script Richard Oswald
Robert Liebmann
production Richard Oswald for Richard Oswald-Film AG, Berlin
camera Carl Hoffmann
occupation

Eerie Tales is a German horror film from 1919. Reinhold Schünzel , Conrad Veidt and Anita Berber play the leading roles in all of them, directed by Richard Oswald , who heralded the age of fantastic films in Germany with this production shortly after the end of the First World War five episodes. The film was based on the stories "The Apparition" by Anselma Heine , "The Hand" by Robert Liebmann, " The Black Cat " by Edgar Allan Poe , " The Suicide Club " by Robert Louis Stevenson and "The Spook" by Richard Oswald.

action

The story begins sharp midnight in an old bookshop. One night there emerged from three large paintings the devil, death and a prostitute. They begin to lead a life of their own, rummage through the dusty volumes and now tell their five eerie stories in which they themselves, always in disguise, play central roles. Only when the clock strikes 1 do the ghosts return to their frames and it appears as if nothing has happened.

First scary story: the apparition

Dr. One day Riedhammer gets to know a young Dutch lady. You become friends and start to appreciate each other, but one day Madame Stevens disappeared from her hotel room without a trace. Nobody from the hotel staff has ever noticed this woman, they assert. Riedhammer begins to doubt his sanity.

Second scary story: the hand

Two men from so-called better circles vie for the favor of a woman who drives men crazy with her charms. When one man loses to the other, he strangles the winner. In this episode, Anita Berber got the opportunity to put her dancing skills to the test.

Third scary story: the black cat

Furious with anger and jealousy, a man murders his unfaithful wife. In order to get rid of her inconspicuously, he decides to wall the dead woman behind a wall. But he makes a mistake. He accidentally walled her up along with the beloved black cat, who one day betrayed him with her meow when the police searched the house.

Fourth Scary Story: The Suicide Club

The police detective Artur Silas tracks down a mysterious secret society. The members of this covenant plan to take their own lives. When the policeman more and more uncovered the machinations of those willing to commit suicide, he himself is soon in dire danger.

Fifth scary story: the haunted

At the time of the Rococo : a baron thwarted his wife's affair. He wants to teach the unfaithful wife-to-be as well as the competitor standing in line a healing lesson. The baron achieves this by pretending that it is haunted and that false "ghosts" appear.

When the three eerie creatures disappeared back into their pictures at precisely one, the antiquarian went mad.

occupation

actor role episode
Reinhold Schünzel The devil Framework story
Ex husband Episode 1
killer Episode 2
Drunk Episode 3
Police detective Artur Silas Episode 4
baron Episode 5
Conrad Veidt The death Framework story
Stranger Episode 1
killer Episode 2
Traveller Episode 3
Club president Episode 4
husband Episode 5
Anita Berber The whore Framework story
woman Episode 1
girlfriend Episode 2
Drunk's wife Episode 3
Club President's sister Episode 4
wife Episode 5

Others: Bernhard Goetzke , Hugo Döblin , Paul Morgan , Georg John , Hans Heinrich von Twardowski and Richard Oswald

Production notes

Was shot Eerie Stories in the summer / early autumn 1919. The official premiere took place on November 5, 1919 Berlin UT Kurfürstendamm .

Of the predominantly creepy stories, the last one, thought up by Oswald himself, is designed as a comedy. Julius Hahlo had the film equipment.

Reviews

The Berliner Tageblatt particularly praised the three main actors: “The collaboration between these three artists is masterful and is the reason for our success. The work of Robert Liebmann, the dramaturge, reveals a sure eye for what is effective. The thriftiness of the title is to be recognized. It is thanks to Richard Oswald as a director to have drawn these powers and to let them unfold. Perhaps the pace could have been a little faster at times, especially where just giving exposure. The photography is first class, especially in terms of the technical aspects, and the decorative furnishings are very tasteful. "

Also , the cinematograph was mostly words of praise and welcomed a new film genre: "These five one-act show with startling clarity in what field the success of the cinema is to be found. As far as I know, such an effective material has not been filmed again since the "Student of Prague". Here is very own film land, and Richard Oswald was the appointed guide, who knew how to pave the way here with a skilful hand and to open up views that absolutely must arouse admiration. [...] With increasing interest, one follows the sometimes rather creepy incidents which culminate in the "Black Cat" and the "Club of Suicides". When Reinhold Schünzel, looking at the large wall clock, counts the few minutes that still separate him from his death, when the pointer continues to advance and finally lifts the clock for the twelfth stroke without showing any salvation, then you actually hold it Breath on. Reinhold Schünzel in general! He's alternately a madman, a sappy drunkard, a shrewd police superintendent and finally even a delightful rococo nobleman whose bravery is only on the tongue but not in the heart, whose heart is more at tête-à-tête with the lady of his Heart, as a result of a funny haunted story staged by her husband, slips a little deeper. The individual pictures are connected by witty verses, which offer a pleasant change for the usual subtitles and explanations. Conrad Veidt was a great actor, especially the dark characters of these five acts and in every role of gripping effect. With him, as with Reinhold Schiinzel, one had to admire the extraordinarily fine art of mimicry, which only very rarely needed explanatory words. Anita Berber embodies the main female roles and can show that she is not only an excellent dancer, but also a good actress. "

Ludwig Kapeller wrote in the Lichtbild-Bühne : “Richard Oswald, to whom the German film industry has already owed many a revival, has now created the film of the uncanny. His "Five Uncanny Stories" undoubtedly represent a significant advance in the conquest of new cinematic territory, and the attempt to open up new material for the slide show must be welcomed with appreciation. [...] Schünzel, Veidt and Anita Berber can be the basis for this A new film that also demands a new style. For the time being, only rudiments can be seen; if it succeeds in grasping the grotesque and bizarre of every eerie film, in giving it its special, uniform style, which has never been consciously used in film so far Here a new, original genre will emerge, which, beyond the individual success, can bring a new, peculiar branch of our film industry to bloom. "

Oskar Kalbus ' Vom Becoming German Film Art said: "This is where photographic trick shots celebrate true orgies: footprints that visibly approach each other across the sand, until a close-up of a human foot is almost in the eye of the viewer ... Here lies the starting point of the haunted film: the impossible, To portray the unimaginable, the unreal, the uncanny on film. "

“All episodes celebrate the curiosity and reveal a feeling for effective suspense. Restored version of a classic film, the original negative of which has been lost, which is why the current copy is still severely damaged. The newly composed music of the film sets fresh accents and reinforces the horror character of the stories. "

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Berliner Tageblatt No. 531 of November 8, 1919
  2. ↑ Der Kinematograph, No. 671, November 12, 1919
  3. ↑ Lichtbild-Bühne, No. 46, from November 15, 1919
  4. ^ Oskar Kalbus: On the becoming of German film art. 1st part: The silent film. Berlin 1935. p. 94
  5. ↑ Scary Stories in LDIF

Web links