Das indische Grabmal (1959)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Werner Jörg Lüddecke (writer)
Thea von Harbou (novel)

Release Date:

October 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Tagline:

Der deutsche Millionen-Film!

Plot:

Harald Berger and his Indian lover, the temple dancer Seetha, desperately flee from the shikaris (cavalry) of Eschanapur's maharajah Chandra...

Plot Keywords:

Temple | Architect | Tomb | Cobra | Marriage

Cast

Debra Paget	...	Seetha
Paul Hubschmid	...	Harald Berger / Henri Mercier in French Version
Walter Reyer	...	Chandra
Claus Holm	...	Dr. Walter Rhode
Valéry Inkijinoff	...	Yama
Sabine Bethmann	...	Irene Rhode
Angela Portaluri	...	A peasant
René Deltgen	...	Prince Ramigani
Guido Celano	...	Gen. Dagh
Jochen Brockmann	...	Padhu
Richard Lauffen	...	Browana
Jochen Blume	...	Asagara
Helmut Hildebrand	...	Ramigani's servant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Victor Francen	...	The Penitent
Panos Papadopulos	...	Gen. Dagh's messenger

Also Known As:

Il sepolcro indiano (Italy)
Le tombeau hindou (France)
The Indian Tomb

Runtime:

Germany:102 min | Spain:97 min

Country:

West Germany | France | Italy

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

CCC-Atelier, Spandau, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Central Cinema Company Film (CCC)

Movie Connections:

Remake of Das indische Grabmal (1938)

Fritz Lang's holiday homework part two.

The second part of "der Tiger von Eschnapur" begins with a de rigueur summary .Although it's the same movie divided into two for business concern,"das Indische Grabmal" surpasses its predecessor and makes it sometimes look like a trailer.

All promises are fulfilled ;Everything Lang threatened to achieve in "der Tiger " materializes here.Here the two worlds (the luminous world of the maharajah and the subterraneans where the darkest secrets are hidden ) play an equal part .How can't we think of "Metropolis" when the lepers come up the stairs and force their way in the light of day?The maharajah is much more than a comic strip character here.He appears as a tortured man -the actor who plays this monarch is actually a German one,the one who plays count Andrassy is the "Sissi" saga-.Little by little ,we discover that he's in fact the real hero of the story-Mercier is absent during an hour in this part-:his evolution is downright intriguing .At the end of the story he found peace of mind in a completely unexpected way.

Remarkable scenes :the spider that spins its web and thus protects the lovers;their enemies seen behind this providential shield.Paget's erotic dance in front of the snake (which echoes to the long scene in the first part when Mercier watches her dancing).And mainly, mainly,these labyrinthine subterraneans which may represent the dark side of the mind .The two worlds (he said that in "die Nibelungen" (1924),there were four worlds!) are a permanent feature in Lang's canon:of course "Metropolis " springs to mind.But think of the underworld of "M";the double life of Andrews in "beyond a reasonable doubt" ;the child's world and the adults' one in "Moonfleet";the "normal "side of life and the secret one beyond the door in the eponymous movie;real life and dream (but where is the frontier?) in "woman in the window" .

Fritz Lang's holiday homework is actually his testament.He would do one more movie ("die tausend Augen des Doctor Mabuse"),but it seemed that,like his hero,he had found peace of mind in this movie.You can forget,unless you're a highbrow,his part in Godard's notorious "le mépris".

Like John Huston or Joseph Mankiewicz ,Lang finished his career brilliantly.