Schloß Vogeloed (1921)

Director:

F.W. Murnau

Writers:

Carl Mayer (writer)
Rudolf Stratz (novel)

Release Date:

7 April 1921 (Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery

Plot:

In the castle Vogeloed, a few aristocrats are awaiting baroness Safferstätt. But first count Oetsch invites himself....

Plot Keywords:

Castle | Rain | Marital Crisis | Priest | Confession

Cast

Arnold Korff	...	Schloßherr / Lord von Vogelschrey auf Vogeloed
Lulu Kyser-Korff	...	Centa von Vogelschrey, Lady of the Castle
Lothar Mehnert	...	Graf / Count Johann Oetsch
Paul Bildt	...	Baron / Baron Safferstätt
Olga Tschechowa	...	Baronin / Baroness Safferstätt
Paul Hartmann	...	Graf / Count Peter Paul Oetsch
Hermann Vallentin	...	Landgerichtsrat a.D. / Retired Local Judge
Julius Falkenstein	...	Der ängstliche Herr / Anxious man
Georg Zawatzky	...	Küchenjunge / apprentice cook
Robert Leffler	...	Majordomus / Major domo
Victor Bluetner	...	Pater / Catholic Priest Faramund
Walter Kurt Kuhle	...	Diener / Servant
Loni Nest	...	Kleines Mädchen / Little girl

Also Known As:

Schloß Vogelöd (Germany) (alternative spelling)
Schloß Vogeloed - Die Enthüllung eines Geheimnisses
The Haunted Castle (USA)
Vogelod Castle (USA)

Runtime:

75 min | USA:69 min | 70 min (20 fps) | Spain:55 min (VHS version) | Spain:81 min (DVD edition)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Bioscop-Atelier, Neubabelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Company:

Uco-Film GmbH

Trivia:

The movie was shot in 16 days and released before the serialized novel's last chapter had been printed in the "Berliner Illustrierten".

Earliest surviving Murnau available on video.

This is the earliest surviving Murnau work that has been released to video. Of his 21 films, nine are lost, nine are with us and on video and three exist only in archives. This work has none of the special effects, luminous cinematography or incredible lighting of his later masterworks. It is filmed pretty much "straight on" as were most films of the day. Murnau here shows his grasp of character and his firm ability to engage us in the narrative.

At a weekend gathering in a castle, a man suspected of murdering his own brother (but never convicted)shows up suddenly. His brother's widow also shows up with her new husband and resents the man's presence but for reasons other than what we assume. There are family secrets and our anti-hero is here to expose them and the real murderer.

Not wanting to give away the plot, let's say simply that it is well done with the proper amount of tension and the facts of the case are psychologically most interesting for the time. One notes that the marriage goes awry when the first husband becomes obsessed with a philosophy that puts down worldly things (including his wife) - this plot device is at the heart of Moliere's TARTUFFE which Murnau films so cleverly a few years later.

This is a most interesting film - an advance on direction and narrative for its day and well worth seeing.