Die Spinnen, 1. Teil - Der Goldene See (1919)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writer:

Fritz Lang (writer)

Release Date:

8 November 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Western

Plot:

Kay Hoog finds a message that indicates that some Incas are still alive, but the secret organisation "Die Spinnen" wants the Incas' gold....

Plot Keywords:

Adventurer

Cast

Carl de Vogt	...	Kay Hoog
Ressel Orla	...	Lio Sha
Georg John	...	Dr. Telphas
Lil Dagover	...	Sonnenpriesterin Naela
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Biensfeldt
Harry Frank
Friedrich Kühne	...	All-Hab-Mah
Rudolf Lettinger	...	John Terry / Terry Landon (u.s. version) (as Bruno Lettinger)
Meinhart Maur	...	Bücherwurm
Paul Morgan	...	Diamantenexperte
Edgar Pauly	...	Vierfinger-John
Reiner Steiner	...	Kapitaen des Brillantenschiffs
Thea Zander	...	Ellen

Also Known As:

Der goldene See (Erstes Abenteuer aus dem Zyklus Die Spinne) (Germany) (censored version)
Die Spinnen (Die Abenteuer des Kay Hoog) (Germany) (working title)
The Spiders, Part 1: The Golden Lake

Runtime:

81 min | USA:130 min | 55 min

Country:

Germany

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Decla Lot, Hagenbeck's Tierpark, Hamburg, Germany

Company:

Decla-Bioscop AG

Trivia:

Originally planned as a series of four films. The last two parts not made were titled 'Um Asiens Kaiserkrone' (part 3) and 'Im Spinnennetz' (part 4).

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood" (1995)

Spiders and Vampires

Originally, the Spiders was planned as a four-part serial, and it shows. I dislike serials; they're typically ridiculous, convoluted and banal. This one is no exception. In the first part of the Spiders, 'The Golden Lake,' a rich adventurer thwarts the plans of a gang of criminals--the Spiders--to steal gold from Incas. A silly love triangle ensues, with some Cowboys and Indians action. The sensationalism and exotica of it didn't entertain me.

One can legitimately trace themes from this two-part series to Lang's later, far superior work. And, the film-making is better than in other serials I've seen from this time, including 'Les Vampires' (1915). In the Spiders, the camera isn't as static, and this film is fast paced, thankfully. The tinting and lighting are adequate, too. None of that's remarkable, though. It's nearly unseemly, however, in how closely this series resembles Louis Feuillade's serials; the criminal gang dresses and behaves like those in 'Les Vampires'--only the names, and to a lesser extent, the situations have changed.

For the further comments on The Spiders series, see the web pages for it.