Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau was a German film director, producer and screenwriter.
The following is an overview of 1921 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
The year 1920 in film involved some significant events.
The year 1919 in film involved some significant events.
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films Different from the Others (1919), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), and The Man Who Laughs (1928). After a successful career in German silent films, where he was one of the best-paid stars of UFA, he and his new Jewish wife Ilona Prager were forced to leave Germany in 1933 after the Nazis came to power. The couple settled in Britain, where he took British citizenship in 1939. He appeared in many British films, including The Thief of Bagdad (1940), before emigrating to the United States around 1941, which led to his being cast in what may be his best remembered role as Major Strasser in Casablanca (1942). This was his last film role to be released during Veidt's lifetime.
The Head of Janus is a 1920 German horror silent film directed by F. W. Murnau. It was also reviewed at the time under the title Schrecken (Terror). The film was an unauthorized adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but the source material went unrecognized by some of the German media due to changes in the characters' names. For example, the Jekyll-Hyde character was called Dr. Warren and Mr. O'Connor in the script. But that isn’t all the film is known for. It also features an early film role for future-Count Dracula Bela Lugosi as a variation of Poole, Dr. Jekyll’s butler in the book. Murnau would later make an unauthorized adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel two years later with Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror.
The Last Performance is a 1929 American drama-horror film directed by Paul Fejos and starring Conrad Veidt and Mary Philbin. The film was made in two version: a silent version and Movietone version complete with music, talking sequences, and sound effects with the talking sequences were confined only to the last reel.
Waxworks is a 1924 German silent anthology film directed by Paul Leni. The film encompasses several genres, including a fantasy adventure, a historical film, and a horror film through its various episodes. Its stories are linked by a plot thread about a writer who accepts a job from a waxworks proprietor to write a series of stories about the exhibits of Caliph of Baghdad, Ivan the Terrible and Jack the Ripper in order to boost business.
The Man Who Laughs is a 1928 American romantic drama silent film directed by the German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni. The film is an adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1869 novel of the same name, and stars Mary Philbin as the blind Dea and Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine. The film is known for the grim carnival freak-like grin on the character Gwynplaine's face which often leads it to be classified as a horror film. Film critic Roger Ebert stated "The Man Who Laughs is a melodrama at times even a swashbuckler, but so steeped in expressionist gloom that it plays like a horror film."
Satan is a 1920 silent German drama film in three parts, directed by F. W. Murnau, written and produced by Robert Wiene. It was one of Murnau's first directorial attempts, and along with his 1920 Der Januskopf, is today considered a lost film. The film starred Fritz Kortner, Sadjah Gezza and Conrad Veidt. Karl Freund was the cinematographer.
Evening – Night – Morning is a 1920 silent German drama film directed by F. W. Murnau. The film is considered to be lost. It was shot at the Weissensee Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by the art director Robert Neppach.
Journey into the Night is a 1921 silent German drama film directed by F. W. Murnau. Prints of the film still survive, thus making it the earliest surviving F. W. Murnau film.
Figures of the Night (German:Nachtgestalten) is a 1920 German silent horror film written, directed and produced by Richard Oswald and starring Paul Wegener, Conrad Veidt, Reinhold Schünzel and Erna Morena. It is based on the novel Eleagabal Kuperus by Karl Hans Strobl. Strobl was the editor of a German horror fiction magazine called Der Orchideengarten which was said to have been influenced by the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Strobl was an anti-Semitic and later willingly joined the Nazi Party, which may explain why he has become an obscure literary figure today.
The Count of Cagliostro is a 1920 Austrian silent horror film directed and co-written by Reinhold Schünzel and starring Schünzel, Anita Berber and Conrad Veidt. It depicts the life of the eighteenth century Italian mesmerist and occultist Alessandro Cagliostro. The film's art direction was by Oscar Werndorff and Carl Hoffmann handled the cinematography. Some sources list this film as a German production. It is today considered a lost film, and little is known about it. It is listed simply as Cagliostro in some film references.
Madness (German:Wahnsinn) is a 1919 German silent horror film directed by Conrad Veidt and starring Veidt, Reinhold Schünzel and Grit Hegesa. The film's art direction was by Willi Herrmann.
Auguste Marie Christine Holl was a German actress and singer. Holl was briefly a silent film star during the early Weimar Republic, appearing in productions such as F. W. Murnau's Desire (1921). As of 2021, only one of her films survives.
Christian Wahnschaffe is a 1920 German silent drama film directed by Urban Gad and starring Conrad Veidt, Lillebil Ibsen, and Fritz Kortner. It was released in two parts World Ablaze (Weltbrand) in November 1920 and The Escape from the Golden Prison in March 1921. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same title by Jakob Wassermann. The film is extant, and was restored in 2018 by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung.
Kurfürstendamm is a 1920 German silent drama film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Conrad Veidt, Asta Nielsen, and Erna Morena. It is set on the Kurfürstendamm in central Berlin. It is now considered a lost film.
The Night at Goldenhall is a 1920 German silent film directed by and starring Conrad Veidt. It is now considered a lost film.
Prostitution is a 1919 German silent drama film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Conrad Veidt, Reinhold Schünzel and Gussy Holl. It was released in two parts Das gelbe Haus and Die sich verkaufen. It was one of several enlightenment films made during the era by Oswald. The physician Magnus Hirschfeld was an advisor on the production. The first part premiered at the Marmorhaus in Berlin.
