Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (1920)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Directors:

Carl Boese
Paul Wegener

Writers:

Henrik Galeen (writer)
Gustav Meyrink (novel)

Release Date:

19 June 1921 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

The 1920 Horror Masterpiece.

Plot:

In 16th-century Prague, a Jewish rabbi creates a giant creature from clay, called the Golem, and using sorcery...

Plot Keywords:

Golem | Rabbi | Jewish | Fire | Black Magic

Cast

Paul Wegener	...	Der Golem / The Golem
Albert Steinrück	...	Der Rabbi Löw / Rabbi Loew
Lyda Salmonova	...	Miriam, des Rabbi Tochter
Ernst Deutsch	...	Der Rabbi Famulus
Hans Stürm	...	Der Rabbi Jehuda, der Älteste der Gemeinde (as Hanns Sturm)
Max Kronert	...	Der Tempeldiener / Temple Servant
Otto Gebühr	...	Der Kaiser / Emperor Luhois
Dore Paetzold	...	Des Kaisers Kebse
Lothar Müthel	...	Der Junker Florian / Knight Florian
Greta Schröder	...	Ein Mägdelein mit der Rose / Little Girl with Rose
Loni Nest	...	Ein kleines Mädchen / Little Girl

Also Known As:

The Golem (USA)
The Golem: How He Came Into the World (USA)

Runtime:

Germany:85 min (20 fps) | USA:91 min

Country:

Germany

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Australia:M | Germany:o.Al. | Spain:13 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Berliner Union-Film Studio, Tempelhof, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Projektions-AG Union (PAGU)

Trivia:

Debut of Fritz Feld.

Goofs:

Continuity: The golem's position relative to the beam when pulling the chain to stoke the fire.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Corpse Bride (2005)

A Gothic Classic

When I see these old attempts at what amounted to a horror film back then, before my time and I'm an old duffer, I'm always struck at the marvelous Gothic quality wrought by the twisted buildings, the gnarled stairways, the open balconies and the weird angles of things such as doorways, arches, street, bridges and the like. The monstrosities are stark, hardly terrifying by today's CGIs and often terrifying their victims in an almost comical, stylized way. This marvelous film together with Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari are marvelous pieces of art. There is an ageless quality to them that transcends the hoary and often corny plots and acting. Each must be taken as a whole because that product is always greater than the sum of their parts. Compare the magical Indian Love Call of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, two rather mainstream singers whose voices blend into something greater than either of their individual talents. So too it is, I contend, with these old Gothic classics. Horror? Hardly. But, their starkness and darkness with its twisted surroundings are still eerie and provoking.