Review #1730: The Student of Prague.
Cast:
Paul Wegener (Balduin), John Gottowt (Scapinelli), Grete Berger (Countess Margit), Lyda Salmonova (Lyduschka), Lothar Körner (Count von Schwarzenberg), and Fritz Weidemann (Baron Waldis-Schwarzenberg) Directed by Stellan Rye and Paul Wegener (#861 - The Golem: How He Came into the World)
Review:
"On the screen, the actor is seen as if under a microscope".
When it comes to horror in film, one has to start somewhere in the beginning years. Think about this: the first feature film with a narrative was in 1906 with The Story of the Kelly Gang, and a good number of the features that would come out of the prevailing time were adaptations of existing material (i.e. books or plays), such as L'Inferno (1912), which adapted parts of the Divine Comedy. Horror would not be excluded, obviously, and there were a number of filmmakers there to plant the seeds of horror across the world in the silent era, ranging from shorts directed by Segundo de Chomón to Frankenstein (1910) to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and so on. I mention the last one because of its place in German Expressionism, and one has to consider the state of films within Germany in the silent era, really: There were barely over a handful of films being done and released in the early years of the 1910s before theaters demanded more to be made to satisfy interests, and the banning of foreign films in 1916 (right in the middle of World War I) certainly helped demand. Within art films and features, The Student of Prague [Der Student von Prag] is clearly at the forefront of all this, with Paul Wegener as star. Born in West Prussia in the German Empire in 1874, he moved his interests from law to acting at the age of 20. It was in 1912 that he saw the potential for motion pictures in terms of art, with this being his debut as star. At the helm in their directorial debut was Stellan Rye, born in Denmark in 1880. He would do a number of films from 1913 to 1914 before joining the German army upon the outbreak of war. While serving in France, he was captured as a prisoner of war and died while in captivity in a hospital. The writer for the film was actor/poet/philosopher/writer Hanns Heinz Ewers, whose most famous work is arguably Alraune (1911), although his actions during the time of World War I (involving espionage) and his membership with the Nazi Party certainly cloud his reputation (for his part, Wegener served as a non-commissioned officer for World War I while being an actor of the state during the second World War). There are three works that the film took inspiration from: Edgar Allan Poe's short story "William Wilson" (involving a man dealing with a double of himself), Alfred de Musset's poem The December Night (at least a quotation, anyway), and the Faust legend (based on the exploits of the historian Johann Georg Faust)
So, I'm sure you are familiar with a movie involving gold coin bargains with shifty looking crackpots dealing in tricks. Of course, we are dealing with a film that was presented as art for all to see and appreciate, complete with a film score by Josef Weiss. It is a testament in some ways that two remakes would follow in 1926 (directed by Henrik Galeen, who worked with Wegener on 1915's The Golem) and 1935 (directed by Arthur Robison), but the original 1913 film suffered a number of edits that meant a restoration had to be done around the time of its 100th anniversary (see, the edits turned an 85 minute movie into 41, complete with plenty more title cards inserted to go with color-less tint). This surely proves interesting for any curious viewer wanting to see what all the fuss is about, and they will certainly find a decent time here, although obviously it strikes a different chord within comparison to the films that would follow in its wake in Germany and beyond. Basically, it invites you in with the chills to consider in just what it means to lose one's soul for personal gain, complete with effects by cinematographer Guido Seeber, responsible for the scenes with two Wegeners on screen at once (it helps that Wegener was a fan of trick photography and had heard about Seeber). While it might be a bit too casual with getting on to its actual plot at times, one at least knows that Wegener and company are taking this seriously without artifice; sure, he may seem a bit too old to play a student (or a swordsman, but that's neither here or there), but he works out for what is needed in an era of static shots and fair set design (in Prague, no less). Berger doesn't fare as well, although she generally doesn't have as much to do to begin with (static shooting only helps those who help themselves), while Gottowt makes a curious presence in short supply as the dealmaker that might as well be a precursor to all of those "devil in disguise" folks soon to be seen in features over the next few decades; Salmonova is average, although she is really more hampered by the fact that her character somehow is going around sneaking into people's houses without being noticed. The idea of seeing one's reflection disappear from themselves for a doppelganger is certain an unnerving prospect, and the movie stays firm in building curiosity to where it all might go, which doesn't necessarily go the way one thinks it will. As such, while it is beholden to a few shortcomings (some avoidable, some unavoidable in the time it was made), it certainly is a somber curiosity worth looking into, one that shows Wegener already ready on his way towards solid stardom as the right man for the right time in world cinema in a growing age.
Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
It begins! Well, I'm sure we have had quite an interesting 12 months. Last October was spent closing the Tribute to the Decades project, which had sprinkled in a few horror films through the year. But hey, we did a whole bunch of horror films before then, right...well, there was 10 in October (with five more in November for the second edition of Halloween - The Week After), and there was 17 in 2018, and there was even ten for 2017.
At any rate, it is time for a horror reckoning. I am targeting at least 20 for the month of October, barring distractions or sudden engagements - so if one is lucky, you might see 30 films...and this will also include Halloween: The Week After, Part 3 in the month of November. Various films will be featured in chronological order from 1913 to...TBD, obviously (although targeting a film from 2020 or 2021 is hot on the request), with various countries getting their chance at the spotlight. Buckle up for some spooky fun.
Next Time: The Phantom Carriage.
