Tartuffe (1925)

Young man shows his millionaire grandfather a film based on Molière's Tartuffe, in order to expose the old man's hypocritical governess who covets his own inheritance.

Director:

F.W. Murnau

Writers:

Molière (play), Carl Mayer (manuscript)

Stars:

Hermann Picha, Rosa Valetti, André Mattoni

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Hermann Picha	...	Der Greis
Rosa Valetti	...	Seine Haushälterin / Housekeeper
André Mattoni	...	Sein Enkel / Grandson
Werner Krauss	...	Herr Orgon
Lil Dagover	...	Frau Elmire / Elmire, Orgon's wife
Lucie Höflich	...	Dorine
Emil Jannings	...	Tartüff
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Camilla Horn

Storyline

Young man shows his millionaire grandfather a film based on Molière's Tartuffe, in order to expose the old man's hypocritical governess who covets his own inheritance.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | tartuffe character | two word title | expressionist | expressionism | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

24 July 1927 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tartuffe

Filming Locations:

Ufa-Atelier, Berlin-Tempelhof, Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universum Film (UFA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min 63 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Camilla Horn served as Lil Dagover's foot double in this film. This small role effectively launched her lengthy acting career, as she was noticed by director F.W. Murnau and cast as the lead actress in his film, Faust (1926).

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Connections

Version of Le tartuffe (1983)

User Reviews

Another wonderful Murnau film

While this film does not have the amazing scenes with breathtaking cinematography like FAUST or SUNRISE, this Murnau film still does excel due to the camera-work and great care taken in its production. And, while not the very best silent film available, it's certainly among the better ones.

This story differs from Molière's play in that the entire play is actually part of a larger story--with a prologue and epilogue. The story begins with a rich old man living alone with his supposedly devoted housekeeper. She has convinced the man that his grandson is evil and should be disinherited because he is, oh, horrors,...an ACTOR!!! Instead, she's fooled him into making her the beneficiary. When the grandson shows up to say hello, the old man chases him away and it appears the housekeeper has won. However, given that the young man is an actor, he dresses up as a traveling showman and comes to the house to show them a film--TARTUFFE.

The film stars Emil Jannings as the evil priest, Tartuffe, who has fooled a rich nobleman into forsaking the pleasures of life and becoming an aesthetic, like him. But, the man's wife soon realizes the priest is a charlatan and much of the movie is spent trying to trap the priest in his lies. Naturally, all this is symbolic of the relationship between the housekeeper and the rich man.

The sets, direction and acting are all excellent. The acting is rather restrained compared to some silent films and the story is told in a brisk and watchable manner.