Tartuffe (1925)

A 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

A 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

Featured in Dämonische Leinwand - Der deutsche Film der zwanziger Jahre (1998)

User Reviews

Expressionist Version of the Moliere Classic

Based on Moliere's classic seventeenth century comedy, this version of TARTUFFE has the eponymous antihero (Emil Jannings) being ultimately outwitted by the family; at the same time the head of the family Orgon (Werner Krauss) remains as blissfully unaware of how to distinguish truth from falsity as he did at the beginning. F. W. Murnau's version is set in a large, rambling house, full of wide staircases and plenty of doors. He proves himself a master of the camera; his close-ups focusing on the pockets as Tartuffe stashes away his ill-gotten gains while pretending to embrace religion, or on Elmire's (Lil Dagover's) breasts, as Tartuffe tries and fails to keep his hands from touching them. Jannings is given full rein to show off his range of facial expressions as Tartuffe; here is a genuinely evil man who believes he can do anything under the cloak of religion. What makes this TARTUFFE most interesting, at least for students of history, is the specially-added prologue and epilogue, in which a young man (André Mattoni) shows his wealthy grandfather (Hermann Picha) the film of TARTUFFE, in order to alert him to the old man's hypocritical governess (Rosa Valetti), and her designs on his fortune. The young man is impoverished, but shown to be much more able to understand human behavior than his grandfather. Through this device Murnau takes a pot-shot at how capitalism and wealth often destroys judgment, creating a covetous society in which everyone is out for themselves. This could be a microcosm of Germany in the mid- Twenties, before the Nazi accession to power. This TARTUFFE moves along at a brisk pace, complemented by a jaunty soundtrack. Worth watching.