The early German cinema was marked by two schools of film-making – Expressionist Horror and Chamber Dramas, known as "Kammerspiel" – which, given the heightened sense of reality at their centre (and also because a number of the great directors to emerge during this time proved adept at both styles), may be thought to converge. This whole approach does lend itself naturally to a psychological probing into situations and characters; however, while the former is a most invigorating commodity (its deliberate artificiality borne out in the acting, sets and cinematography) and has been very influential over the years, the results can be tough sledding indeed – unless it is deployed in the service of an engaging narrative – where the latter is concerned! Incidentally, while F.W. Murnau's THE LAST LAUGH (1924) received much prominence for its visual dynamic in telling a story without the benefit of intertitles, the film under review does the exact same thing (except for Werner Krauss' singular uttering of "I am a murderer!" towards the end)! Still, as suggested by my lowly rating (despite its presence on the "Wonders in the Dark" all-time top 3000 movies poll), the ensuing artistic quality is hardly comparable to that masterpiece – indeed, so over-the-top does this become (in the 'favourable' words of critic Jean- Andre' Fieschi, the characters here are like "somnambulists on the brink of madness") that it feels almost like a parody "Kammerspiel" effort!
The plot revolves around the family of middle-aged train-station attendant Werner Krauss; he receives a note that a railway inspector is to arrive and even reside in his home. Krauss has a young daughter – with whom the official is immediately taken, ending up seducing her while daddy is away on his night-shift diligently checking the tracks. Yet, his wife is sleeping in her room and, sensing that something is wrong, wakes up to catch him in the act: this is one of the most exaggerated sequences, as she contorts with torment at just what might be going on behind closed doors
until she can stand it no longer and breaks it down with an axe! The partly-undressed girl is understandably grief-stricken at this, but the man is quite non-plussed; the old woman goes out to look for her husband but succumbs to the freezing temperature and dies in the snow right in front of a shrine! It gets sillier, as Krauss returns home, goes to sleep and out to work again the next morning none the wiser: one would think he ought to deign his family of a word; again, an unintentionally hilarious scene has him staring at length at his unmade bed, as if wondering just how his wife would go about it! Anyway, the tragedy that has struck his family eventually dawns on him (he even finds the corpse of his 'old lady') – and, doing the right thing, turns his full wrath upon the inspector and strangles him (why the latter stays on at Krauss' home, as if nothing had happened, is anybody's guess!). Their lives shattered, the father breaks down on the job and confesses to his 'crime', while the girl is shown climbing on the roof of the station as a train is pulling in
