Phantom (1922)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

F.W. Murnau

Writers:

Gerhart Hauptmann (novel)
Thea von Harbou (adaptation)

Release Date:

13 November 1922 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

Lorenz Lubota is a city clerk with no direction in life. One day on his way to work he is run over by...

Plot Keywords:

Poetry | Money | Writer | Love At First Sight | Class Differences

Cast

Alfred Abel	...	Lorenz Lubota
Grete Berger	...	Pfandleiherin Schwabe / Pawnbroker Schwabe
Lil Dagover	...	Marie Starke
Lya De Putti	...	Veronika Harlan / Mellitta (as Lya de Putti)
Anton Edthofer	...	Wigottschinski
Aud Egede Nissen	...	Melanie Lubota
Olga Engl	...	Harlans Frau / Harlan's Wife
Karl Etlinger	...	Buchbinder Starke / Bookbinder Starke (as Karl Ettlinger)
Ilka Grüning	...	Baronin / Baroness
Adolf Klein	...	Harlan
Frida Richard	...	Lubotas Mutter / Lubota's Mother (as Frieda Richard)
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski	...	Hugo Lubota (as H.H. von Twardowski)
Heinrich Witte	...	Amtsdiener / Clerk

Also Known As:

The Phantom (USA)

Runtime:

125 min | USA:117 min (TCM print) | Germany:145 min (Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Foundation restoration print, 18 fps)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-8 (1974) | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Bioscop-Atelier, Neubabelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Company:

Uco-Film GmbH

Trivia:

This movie was considered lost for a long time but is now available in good condition.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lorenz'a Aunt Schwabe reads his letter of termination, she is wearing gloves, but the close up of the letter shows a bare hand holding it.

Movie Connections:

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

One of Murnau's best visually told films

I just saw Phantom (F.W. Murnau: 1922) for the first time. It just came out on DVD (from Flicker Alley). The transfer is really good and the music is beautiful. I was a bit disappointed that the inter titles are in English and tinted green but other than that, I have no complaints.

The film was good. It is extremely well told with some unbelievable scenes. It is really worth buying the DVD just for those scenes. I had how ever problems with the story (I just could not believe that an honest man like that would loose his head so easily). I also thought that Alfred Abel was to old for the part, even though he was good in the role.

This is not one of Murnau's best films but it is one of his best visually told films. I give it 7/10.