The Indian Tomb (1959)

A German architect runs away with the maharajah of Eschnapur's fiancee but is caught and thrown in the dungeon, while his relatives arrive from Europe looking for him and the maharajah's brother is scheming to usurp the throne.

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Werner Jörg Lüddecke (screenplay), Thea von Harbou (novel)

Stars:

Debra Paget, Paul Hubschmid, Walther Reyer

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Debra Paget	...	Seetha
Paul Hubschmid	...	Harald Berger / Henri Mercier in French Version
Walther Reyer	...	Maharadjaj Chandra
Claus Holm	...	Dr. Walter Rhode
Sabine Bethmann	...	Irene Rhode
René Deltgen	...	Prince Ramigani
Valéry Inkijinoff	...	Yama (as Inkijinoff)
Jochen Brockmann	...	Padhu - Ramigani's ally
Richard Lauffen	...	Bhowana
Jochen Blume	...	Asagara - the Engineer
Helmut Hildebrand	...	Ramigani's servant

Storyline

Harald Berger and his Indian lover, the temple dancer Seetha, desperately flee from the shikaris (cavalry) of Eschanapur's maharajah Chandra, who burn a whole village just for letting them pass invoking traditional hospitality. A spider weaves a web so the trackers won't look for them in a Shiva temple, but she is caught outside, he left for dead after a steep fall into a crocodile-infested water. Meanwhile his sister Irene and brother-in-law Dr. Walter Rhode, the architect who refuses to build a tomb to bury Seetah alive for scorning the ruler's love before the hospital he was asked for, guess the truth, and try to make their assigned Indian servant Asagara talk, who dreads incriminating his sovereign. She can't believe Chandra's claim Harald was killed on a tiger-hunt, and the architect finds the bloody shirt he produces doesn't have the button she mended. Prince Ramigani plots seizing Chandra's throne with rajah Padhu, courtiers and the corrupt General Dagh, as soon as Chandra ...

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Plot Keywords:

priest | stabbed in the back | spider web | hinduism | culture clash | 

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Taglines:

Der deutsche Millionen-Film!

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Genres:

Adventure | Romance

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Details

Country:

West Germany France Italy

Language:

German

Release Date:

October 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Indian Tomb

Filming Locations:

Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

Box Office

Budget:

DEM 20,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Central Cinema Company Film (CCC), Rizzoli Film, Regina Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fritz Lang actually was said to mock both this movie and his prequel with German puns: "Das indische Grabmal" he renamed to "Das kindische Grabmal" ("The childish tomb"); "Der Tiger von Eschnapur" became "The Tiger von Dextropur" (Dextropur being a brand of Dextrose Sugar).

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Goofs

One can see the horizontal wire which is supporting the head of the cobra.

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Crazy Credits

Based on an original story by Thea Von Harbou made famous by Richard Eichberg.

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Connections

Featured in Histoire(s) du cinéma: Toutes les histoires (1989)

User Reviews

Delightful Conclusion of a Romantic Adventure

Seetha (Debra Paget) and Harold Berger (Paul Hubschmid) are rescued from the desert by a caravan and brought to a small village. However, the greedy owner of the house where they are lodged betrays the law of hospitality and reveals their location to Prince Ramigani (René Deltgen). The couple tries to escape but is hunted and captured by Ramigani and his men. Meanwhile Irene Rhode (Sabine Bethmann) and her husband Walter Rhode (Claus Holm) suspect that Maharaja Chandra (Walter Reyer) is not telling the truth about Harold's destiny. The conspirator Ramigani forces Seetha to accept to get married with Chandra to provoke the wrath of the priests and get the alliance of Prince Padhu (Jochen Brockmann) and his army. In the meantime, Harold succeeds in escaping from the dungeon and seeks out Seetha to save her.

"Das Indische Grabmal" is the delightful conclusion of a romantic adventure in the exotic India. This family movie seems to be a matinée with wonderful moments, like for example, the spider building its web and protecting the lovers after the offering of Seetha to her god Shiva; or the sexy dance of Seetha; or the maze in the underground of the palace; or the dead bodies without gore. The colors are splendidly restored in the DVD released in Brazil by Continental in the beautiful locations and sets, and it is possible to see the strings controlling the snake while Seetha is dancing. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Sepulcro Indiano" ("Indian Tomb")