Reception
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| The Golem | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Paul Wegener Henrik Galeen |
| Written by | Paul Wegener Henrik Galeen |
| Produced by | Hanns Lippmann |
| Starring | Paul Wegener Rudolf Blümner Carl Ebert Henrik Galeen Lyda Salmonova |
| Cinematography | Guido Seeber [1] |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 60 minutes |
| Country | German Empire |
| Languages | Silent German intertitles |
Der Golem (German: Der Golem, shown in the US as The Monster of Fate) is a partially lost 1915 German silent horror film written and directed by Paul Wegener and Henrik Galeen. It was inspired by a Jewish folktale, the most prevalent version of the story involving 16th century Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel who created the Golem to protect his people from antisemites. [1] Wegener claimed the film was based on Gustav Meyrink's 1915 novel The Golem , but, as the movie has little to do with existing Jewish traditions, Troy Howarth states "it is more likely that (the screenwriters) simply drew upon European folklore". [1]
The film was the first of a trilogy produced by Wegener, followed by The Golem and the Dancing Girl (1917) and The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920).
In modern times, an antiques dealer (Henrik Galeen) searching the ruins of a Jewish temple, finds a golem (Paul Wegener), a clay statue that had been brought to life four centuries earlier by a Kabbalist rabbi using a magical amulet to protect the Jewish people from persecution. The dealer resurrects the golem as a servant, but the golem falls in love with Jessica (Lyda Salmonova), the dealer's daughter. When she does not return his love, the golem goes on a rampage and commits a series of murders.
Co-writer/co-director Henrik Galeen played a major role in the film (which was unusual for him) and years later went on to co-create other silent horror classics, such as F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922) and Paul Leni's Waxworks (1924) [1]
Actress Lyda Salmanova went on to marry Paul Wegener. [1]
The few surviving clips from this film show Wegener in a costume almost identical to the one he used in his later 1920 version, and "show him stumbling around in a manner he would repeat in the later film", according to Troy Howarth. [1]
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2017) |
The Deutsche Kinemathek film archive possesses "108 meter fragments". [2] While many sources consider it a lost film, silentera.com states that a "print exists", [3] and Professor Elizabeth Baer notes in her book The Golem Redux: From Prague to Post-Holocaust Fiction that Donald Glut claimed in The Frankenstein Legend that "European film collector" Paul Sauerlaender tracked down "a complete print" in 1958; Baer is careful, however, to point out that "Glut provides no source for this information." [4]
In Season 6, Episode 9 of the television show, Mad Men, Roger Sterling (John Slattery) refers to the film in conversation with his daughter. She admonishes Roger for taking his young grandson to see Planet of the Apes and Roger replies: "Listen, I saw "The Golem" when I was his age. You don't even know what scary is."
A golem is an animated, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is entirely created from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century rabbi of Prague. According to Moment magazine, "the golem is a highly mutable metaphor with seemingly limitless symbolism. It can be a victim or villain, man or woman—or sometimes both. Over the centuries, it has been used to connote war, community, isolation, hope, and despair."
The year 1915 in film involved some significant events.
Paul Wegener was a German actor, writer, and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema.
A golem is an artificial animated being in medieval and Jewish folklore.
The Golem: How He Came into the World is a 1920 German silent horror film and a leading example of early German Expressionism. Director Paul Wegener, who co-directed the film with Carl Boese and co-wrote the script with Henrik Galeen based on Gustav Meyrink's 1915 novel, stars as the titular creature, a being in Jewish folklore created from clay. Photographer Karl Freund went on to work on the 1930s classic Universal horror films years later in Hollywood.
Alraune is a 1928 German silent science fiction horror film directed by Henrik Galeen and starring Brigitte Helm in which a prostitute is artificially inseminated with the semen of a hanged man. The story is based upon the legend of Alraune. In this version, the blasphemous sexual union causes the progeny to grow to adulthood quickly, behave in a sexually promiscuous fashion and cause the men who fall in love with her nothing but hardship, heartache and financial ruin, if not death.
The Golem and the Dancing Girl is a 1917 German silent comedy horror film. It is part of a trilogy, preceded by The Golem (1915) and followed by The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920). Paul Wegener and Rochus Gliese co-directed and acted in the film. Wegener also wrote the screenplay. This was the screen debut of Fritz Feld. It was produced by Deutsche Bioscop GmbH.
The Student of Prague is a 1926 German Expressionist silent film by actor and filmmaker Henrik Galeen
The Hunchback and the Dancer is a 1920 silent German horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and photographed by Karl Freund. This is now considered to be a lost film. The film was written by Carl Mayer, who also wrote The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). Karl Freund later emigrated to Hollywood where he directed such classic horror films as The Mummy (1932) and Mad Love (1935). It premiered at the Marmorhaus in Berlin.
Lyda Salmonova was a Czech stage and film actress who appeared primarily in German films. She was married to the actor Paul Wegener and appeared alongside him in a number of films.
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.
Lucrezia Borgia is a 1922 German silent historical film directed by Richard Oswald and starring Conrad Veidt, Liane Haid, Paul Wegener, and Albert Bassermann. It was based on a novel by Harry Sheff, and portrayed the life of the Renaissance Italian aristocrat Lucrezia Borgia (1480–1519). Botho Hoefer and Robert Neppach worked as the film's art directors, designing the period sets needed. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. Karl Freund was one of the cinematographers. Famed French director Abel Gance remade the film in 1935.
The Island of Tears is a 1923 German silent film directed by Lothar Mendes and starring Lya De Putti, Paul Wegener, and Lyda Salmonova.
The Lost Shadow is a 1921 German silent film directed by Rochus Gliese and starring Paul Wegener, Wilhelm Bendow and Adele Sandrock. The cinematographer was Karl Freund. The film's sets were designed by the art director Kurt Richter. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. For some reason, the film was only released in the US in 1928. It is today considered a lost film.
Duke Ferrante's End is a 1922 German silent historical film directed by Paul Wegener and Rochus Gliese and starring Paul Wegener, Hans Stürm and Hugo Döblin. It was shot at the EFA Studios in Berlin. The art direction was by Walter Reimann. It premiered at the Marmorhaus in Berlin.
Homunculus is a six chapter German science fiction silent serial directed by Otto Rippert and written by Robert Reinert. Other sources list Robert Neuss as a co-writer. Fritz Lang was one of Rippert's assistants during filming. It was originally produced by Deutsche Bioscop GmbH.
The Foreign Prince is a 1918 German silent drama film directed by and starring Paul Wegener and also featuring Lyda Salmonova and Margarete Kupfer. It is now considered to be a lost film.
Rübezahl's Wedding is a 1916 German silent fantasy drama film directed by Rochus Gliese and Paul Wegener and starring Wegener, Lyda Salmonova, and Georg Jacoby. It was the first in a trilogy of fairytale films made by Wegener also including Hans Trutz in the Land of Plenty and The Pied Piper of Hamelin.
The Yogi is a 1916 German silent drama film directed by Rochus Gliese and Paul Wegener and starring Wegener and Lyda Salmonova. Wegener plays a double role as an inventor and an Indian mystic.
The Galley Slave is a 1919 German silent historical adventure film directed by Rochus Gliese and Paul Wegener and starring Wegener, Lyda Salmonova, and Paul Hartmann. Inspired by several of the novels of Honoré de Balzac including Lost Illusions, it was released in two parts on separate dates during October 1919. Although Gliese was the principal credited director, the film's star Wegener also worked on its production.
