Tag Archives: German movies

December 9, 2020 · 10:44 pm

Films of 1920: From Morn to Midnight

Truly the weirdest of the weird.

“So if The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari took German Expressionism and ran with it, From Morn To Midnight took it, ran with it, jumped on a motorcycle and rode it screaming straight through a brick wall.” – Lea Stans, Silentology

This is an extreme oddball of a film, so odd that it was never even released in Germany, though it may have been shown there privately. It was, however, released in Japan in 1922, for some reason. For decades after it was thought to be a lost film, until a print was discovered in Tokyo in 1959 and restored.

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December 7, 2020 · 10:50 pm

Films of 1920: Genuine, Tragedy of a Vampire

They can’t all be winners.

My last post was about the very successful and acclaimed Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. I’ll look next at two forgotten films that tried to follow in Caligari’s footsteps… and failed.

Genuine: Tragedy of a Vampire

This was a follow up from Caligari‘s director, Robert Wiene, in which he ill-advisedly tried to dial up the weirdness.

First a disclaimer: there are no undead bloodsuckers in this flick. In 1920 the term ‘vampire’ or ‘vamp’ was more commonly used to refer to a seductive femme fatale, which is the case here.

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June 19, 2020 · 8:30 pm

5. Threepenny Opera (1931)

Continuing my countdown of the final ten in 100 consecutive movie nights!

Threepenny Opera (1931), dir. George Pabst, starring Rudolf Forster, Carola Neher, Lotte Lenya, Reinhold Schünzel, Fritz Rasp, Valeska Gert, Ernst Busch. Adapted from the hit stage musical by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill.

I have to admit I was fully prepared to love this movie before it even began, which makes this review a little suspect. Oh well. The fact is I’ve been watching an awful lot of German films from between the wars, both silent and sound, and I am familiar enough with some of the actors that when they pop up in small roles I feel like I’m seeing an old friend. (“Oh look! The minister is Hermann Thimig!”)

That disclaimer aside, here’s my take on the movie.

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