Thomas Hutter

Last updated
Thomas Hutter
Nosferatu character
Based on Jonathan Harker
Portrayed by Gustav von Wangenheim (1922)
Bruno Ganz (1979)
Eddie Izzard (2000)
Emrhys Cooper (2023)
Nicholas Hoult (2024)
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationReal estate agent
SpouseEllen Hutter (wife)
Religion Christian

Thomas Hutter is a fictional character in the silent expressionist horror film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922), its remake Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) (renamed as Jonathan Harker), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), David Lee Fisher's "visual remix" Nosferatu (2023), and a third remake Nosferatu (2024).

Contents

He is a young man who works as a real estate agent and lives in the German city of Wisborg with his wife Ellen Hutter, the main protagonist. [1]

The character was based on Jonathan Harker from the gothic horror novel Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker.

He is played by the actor Gustav von Wangenheim in Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922), by Bruno Ganz (as Jonathan Harker) in Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Eddie Izzard in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Emrhys Cooper in Nosferatu (2023), and by the actor Nicholas Hoult in Nosferatu (2024). [2]

Biography

Hutter, a real estate agent working for Knock, and his wife live a good life together in (the fictional) Wisborg. One day, Knock tells him to go to the Carpathian Mountains to visit Count Orlok and discuss buying a house. In truth, Orlok has brainwashed Knock, and is helping his master bring plagues to Wisborg. As Hutter begins to leave, Ellen says goodbye to him. In the mountains, despite warnings from the villagers, and having read the Book of Vampires about the vampire Nosferatu, Orlok's true identity, Hutter dismisses them all and continues his journey.

Once at Orlok Castle, he is greeted by the Count, although he is concerned by the latter's strange behavior whenever there is blood present. The night after completing the purchase process, Orlok reveals his true nature and attempts to drain Hutter's blood. Due to Ellen's psychic connection with her husband, she senses him and walks over the balcony railing while she distracts Orlok, saving Hutter. However, this makes her feel sick and she passes out from it. That morning, Hutter goes to Orlok's crypt and finds the Count sleeping in a coffin. Horrified, he returns to his room and, at night, sees Orlok carrying coffins to go to Wisborg and discovers that the vampire has trapped him in the castle. Concerned for his wife, Hutter attempts to escape through his window using tied sheets but falls to the ground, losing consciousness. He is then nursed back to health by nearby villagers.

Later, Hutter returns home and Ellen is delighted to see him, while Orlok, carrying his own coffin, walks through the house and sees them through the window. Orlok then plans to drain Ellen's blood. Due to Orlok's journey with his rats, Wisborg becomes infected with plagues and several people die in the process, leading the local authorities to declare a quarantine. Knowing that the vampire is responsible, Ellen reads the Book of the Vampire that her husband brought with him to find a way to defeat Orlok, and discovers that the Nosferatu can be defeated if a pure-hearted woman distracts him with beauty.

As a result, Ellen willingly lets Orlok cast a spell on her, causing her to faint. Hutter then goes to ask Professor Bulwer to help his wife. At the same time, Orlok arrives at Hutter's house and drains Ellen's blood, forgetting about time in the process. As the sun rises, Orlok tries to escape, but is caught by the sunlight and evaporates into flames. Then Ellen wakes up and calls Hutter, and he arrives just in time for her to die in his arms.

Films

Thomas Hutter has been played by several actors in different film adaptations.

Differences from the Jonathan Harker in the novel

Related Research Articles

<i>Nosferatu</i> 1922 silent film by F. W. Murnau

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror is a 1922 silent German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife of his estate agent and brings the plague to their town.

<i>Shadow of the Vampire</i> 2000 film by E. Elias Merhige

Shadow of the Vampire is a 2000 independent period vampire Gothic mystery film directed by E. Elias Merhige and written by Steven Katz. The film stars John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe. It is a fictionalized account of the making of the classic vampire film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, directed by F. W. Murnau, during which the film crew begin to have disturbing suspicions about their lead actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Schreck</span> German actor (1879–1936)

Friedrich Gustav Maximilian Schreck, known professionally as Max Schreck, was a German actor, best known for his lead role as the vampire Count Orlok in the film Nosferatu (1922).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Van Helsing</span> Fictional character created by Bram Stoker

Professor Abraham Van Helsing is a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula written by Bram Stoker. Van Helsing is a Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "MD, D.Ph., D.Litt., etc.", indicating a wealth of experience, education and expertise. He is a doctor, professor, lawyer, philosopher, scientist, and metaphysician. The character is best known through many adaptations of the story as a vampire slayer, monster hunter and the arch-nemesis of Count Dracula, and the prototypical and the archetypal parapsychologist in subsequent works of paranormal fiction. Some later works tell new stories about Van Helsing, while others, such as Dracula (2020) and I Woke Up a Vampire (2023) have characters that are his descendants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renfield</span> Fictional character from Bram Stokers Dracula

R. M. Renfield is a fictional character who appears in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. He is Count Dracula's deranged, fanatically devoted servant and familiar, helping him in his plan to turn Mina Harker into a vampire in return for a continuous supply of insects to consume and the promise of immortality. Throughout the novel, he resides in an asylum, where he is treated by Dr. John Seward.

<i>Dracula</i> (1958 film) 1958 horror film directed by Terence Fisher

Dracula is a 1958 British gothic horror film directed by Terence Fisher and written by Jimmy Sangster based on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel of the same name. The first in the series of Hammer Horror films starring Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, the film also features Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing, along with Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling, Carol Marsh, and John Van Eyssen. In the United States, the film was retitled Horror of Dracula to avoid confusion with the U.S. original by Universal Pictures, 1931's Dracula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Orlok</span> Fictional antagonist of Nosferatu

Count Orlok, commonly referred to as Nosferatu, is a fictional character who originally appeared in the silent film Nosferatu (1922) directed by F. W. Murnau, as well as its subsequent remakes, which is based on Bram Stoker's character Count Dracula. In the original 1922 film Count Orlok is portrayed by German actor Max Schreck.

<i>Dracula</i> (1979 film) 1979 British horror film directed by John Badham

Dracula is a 1979 gothic horror film directed by John Badham. The film starred Frank Langella in the title role as well as Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence and Kate Nelligan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mina Harker</span> Fictional character

Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker is a fictional character and the main female character in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula.

<i>Nosferatu the Vampyre</i> 1979 film by Werner Herzog

Nosferatu the Vampyre is a 1979 gothic horror film written and directed by Werner Herzog. It is set primarily in 19th-century Wismar, Germany and Transylvania, and was conceived as a stylistic adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, taking the title, setting and titular character's design from F. W. Murnau's 1922 film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. The picture stars Klaus Kinski as Count Dracula, Isabelle Adjani as Lucy Harker, Bruno Ganz as Jonathan Harker, and French artist-writer Roland Topor as Renfield. There are two different versions of the film, one in which the actors speak English, and one in which they speak German.

<i>Dracula, the Musical</i> 2001 American musical by Frank Wildhorn

Dracula, the Musical is a musical based on the original 1897 Victorian novel by Bram Stoker. The score is by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics and book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Harker</span> Fictional character created by Bram Stoker

Jonathan Harker is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. An English solicitor, his journey to Transylvania and encounter with the vampire Count Dracula and his Brides at Castle Dracula constitutes the dramatic opening scenes in the novel and most of the film adaptations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gustav von Wangenheim</span> German actor (1895–1975)

Gustav von Wangenheim was a German actor, screenwriter and director.

<i>Dracula: Pages from a Virgins Diary</i> 2002 Canadian film

Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary is a 2002 horror film directed by Guy Maddin, budgeted at $1.7 million and produced for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as a dance film documenting a performance by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet adapting Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. Maddin elected to shoot the dance film in a fashion uncommon for such films, through close-ups and using jump cuts. Maddin also stayed close to the source material of Stoker's novel, emphasizing the xenophobia in the reactions of the main characters to Dracula.

Boo! is a 1932 American Pre-Code comedy horror short film by Universal Pictures, directed and written by Albert DeMond. Boo! contains clips of horror films Nosferatu (1922), The Cat Creeps (1930), and Frankenstein (1931), mocking them thoroughly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greta Schröder</span> German actress

Greta Schröder was a German actress. She is best known for the role of Ellen Hutter, Thomas Hutter's wife and the cause of Count Orlok's destruction in Nosferatu (1922). In the fictionalized 2000 film Shadow of the Vampire, she is portrayed as having been a famous actress during the making of Nosferatu, but in fact she was little known. The bulk of her career was during the 1920s, and she continued to act well into the 1950s, but by the 1930s her roles had diminished to only occasional appearances. Following a failed marriage with struggling actor Ernst Matray, she was married to actor and film director Paul Wegener.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Dracula</span> Title character of Bram Stokers 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula

Count Dracula is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been inspired by the 15th-century Wallachian prince Vlad the Impaler, who was also known as Vlad Dracula, and by Sir Henry Irving and Jacques Damala, actors with aristocratic backgrounds that Stoker had met during his life.

<i>Nosferatu the Vampyre</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Nosferatu the Vampyre is an action game based on the film of the same name and runs on the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum computers. It was developed by Design Design and published by Piranha Software in 1986.

Hrabě Drakula is a Czechoslovakian 1971 black and white TV film adaptation of Bram Stoker's original novel Dracula.

<i>Nosferatu</i> (2024 film) 2024 film by Robert Eggers

Nosferatu is a 2024 American gothic supernatural horror film written and directed by Robert Eggers. It is a remake of the 1922 German film with the same title, an unauthorised adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. The film features an ensemble cast including Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, and Willem Dafoe, while also reuniting Eggers with the frequently collaborating cinematographer Jarin Blaschke.

References

  1. Sight and Sound, ed. (February 2001). "Six Degrees Of Nosferatu" . Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  2. IMBD (ed.). "Nosferatu". IMDb . Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  3. Quispe, Harold (28 November 2023). "'Nosferatu', de Robert Eggers, se estrenará para navidad de 2024: revisa el elenco oficial". RPP. Retrieved 10 December 2023. La icónica película muda de terror, basada en la historia de Drácula, llegará a los cines en una nueva versión el 25 de diciembre del 2024