By the early 1910’s the American
film industry had become the dominating force in international cinema. With the
star system firmly in place, storytelling camera techniques, such as pans,
dolly shots, and editing that stressed smooth transition from one scene to
another, the foundations were laid for what would continue to grow into a major
American industry. While most of Europe
was in chaos during the first War World, the American film industry grew at an
unparalleled rate. Millions across the world flocked to the theaters to view
the latest Hollywood release. It was
during this time that the studios strove to appease the masses and chose
subject matters that would be less offensive to the huge movie going audience.
This was also the height of the American Progressive Era, a period of social
activism and political reform. One of
the chief goals of the Progressive movement, besides political reform and prohibition,
was the modernization of virtually every aspect of American life including medical,
social, and family values. It was during
this period that the horror genre virtually disappeared from the American movie
screens. It was the belief of some film makers that the American audience had
become too sophisticated for the supernatural. While the Americans may have
avoided producing horror films the Germans certainly had no problem bringing
Gothic tales to the silver screen. Many of these movies, though mostly
forgotten would have a lasting impact on the horror genre for decades to come.
During the first two decades of the 20th century the German horror writers were
going through the second phase of the Schauerroman
Movement, which literally translated into
Shudder Novel. The first wave had occurred at the end of the 18th
century and directly impacted the works of Edgar
Allen Poe and Mary Shelley. The
second wave would have an even greater impact on not only the German writers
but the German film industry as well. The German writers of this period offered
no explanation for the supernatural events that took place in their stories and
novels, whereas the English Gothic novelist would always offer some reasonable
explanation for the super natural events contained within their stories.
Hanns Heinz Ewers
One of
the most successful writers during the second phase Schauerroman Movement was horror
writer, Hanns Heinz Ewers. Ewers was
as unusual as the stories that he penned. Born in 1871 Ewers was a German
actor, poet, philosopher, and author of novels and short stories particularly
horror stories. He is also noted for his lectures on Nietzchean philosophy and
Satanism. Ewers was a strong proponent for the concept of Autorenfilm, the idea
of a movie should be considered a work of art based on the author’s work alone.
This concept was quite revolutionary in 1913, when film was not thought of as
an art form at all.
Ewers is regarded as a major influence
on such horror writers as H. P. Lovecraft and Guy Endore. Occultists from around the world are also
huge fans of his works due to his longtime friendship with world renowned
Satanist Aleister Crowley. Yet in spite of his accomplishments, Ewers fell out
of favor with many critics and writers due to his Nazi association. It was
during the 1930’s that Ewers became enthralled with Nazi Party, drawn by its
Nationalism, its alleged Nietzschean moral philosophy, and its cult worship of
Teutonic culture. He did however find the Nazis party’s anti-Semitic stance
disagreeable since, at that time had a Jewish mistress. This, in addition to
his alleged homosexuality, soon found Ewers in disfavor with the Nazis party.
In 1934 the German government banned most of his works and seized his property.
Ewers would later die penniless in 1943
from tuberculosis.
During the height of Ewers popularity (1910’s) intellectuals in Germany
began to discuss the artistic possibilities of film, many of them agreed that
the film medium offered the ability to mix real and unnatural events in new and
exciting ways. One such proponent of this school of thought was Paul Wegener, a law student turned
actor. Wegener, who had worked as a
stage actor with the Max Reinhardt's acting troupe, turned his attention to the
motion picture media in 1912. Wegener was convinced that cinema could
communicate, completely independent from literature and the stage, with imagery
alone.
“The real creator of the film must be the
camera. Getting the spectator to change his point of view, using special effect
to double the actor on the divided screen, superimposing other images , all
this technique, form, gives the content its real meaning”
Paul Wegener
Paul Wegener
It was Ewers’ The Student
of Prague also known as A Bargain with Satan that would rocket
Paul Wegener to stardom making him the world’s
first horror star. Wegener not only
starred in this 1913 silent film he also co-directed it with Stellan Rye. The Student of Prague was
a classy retelling of the tried but true “deal with the Devil” theme. In this case a young poor student falls in
love with a beautiful countess after rescuing her. The student then make a deal with a sorcerer
named Scapanelli, (who is none other than Satan himself) who in exchange for
the student’s reflection gives him anything he wants. As the student pursues his heart’s desire he
finds that his doppelganger (an exact double) is following him. The
doppelganger frightens the countess and then kills her fiance' in a duel. In the climatic ending the student takes a gun
and shots the doppelganger but it is the student who is wounded by the gun
shots and dies. The devil reappears, tears up the contact and then scatters the
pieces over the student’s body.
With a run time of 1 hour 25 minutes, The Student
of Prague, which is hailed as the first true feature length film in
history, premiered on August 22, 1913. It
is reported the some of the audience members actually screamed when the student’s
image steps out of the mirror. Although this effect was achieved with the ever
so common double exposure technique that effect had never been seen by the
movie going audience at that time and it did make quite an impression.
For his
next project Wegener found inspiration from an ancient Jewish legend. While the Student of Prague is hailed as the first feature length horror
film, The Golem (1915) is considered to be the first feature length monster film. The Golem (1915) is set in contemporary times and in this retelling
of the legend an antique dealer who finds a golem, a Jewish rabbi restores it
to life and uses the creature as a servant. The golem falls in love with the
antique dealer's daughter. The daughter finds the golem repulsive and has not
returned his love, the creature being begins to commits a series of murders.
The Golem (1915)
the first feature length monster film.
Wegener was a natural for the role
of the golem with his large stature and sharp features. Not only did he star in
this film he also co-wrote and co-directed with Henrik Galeen. And he would again reprise the roles as star,
writer and co-director with along with Rochus Gilese in the 1917 The
Golem and the Dancing Girl (Der Golem und die Tänzerin). The prequel unlike
the original had more of a comic twist. It was and still is for that matter
considered a comedy /horror. The Golem and The Golem and the Dancing Girl are both lost films.
However Wegener’s final installment
into the Golem trilogy does survive. It is reported that Wegener was unhappy
with The Golem (1915) due to budget restraints. Wegener decided to retell the story of the
Golem this time using the legend he had been told while filming The Student of Prague. The result was The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920).
According to a 16th century legend
the century chief rabbi of Prague, Judah Loew ben Bezalel, fashioned a golem to
protect the Jewish citizens of Prague who were being persecuted under the rule
of Rudolf II, the Holy Roman Emperor. The rabbi constructed the golem out of
clay he found on the banks of the Vltava River. The golem was brought to life
when the rabbi performed a series of rituals and Hebrew incantations. As this
golem grew larger and more powerful, it’s violence increased. In some versions
of the story the golem not only kills gentiles but Jews as well and eventually
turns on its creator.
The Emperor promised to stop the persecution
of the Jews if the Rabbi would agree to destroy the golem. The rabbi agreed and
then rubbed out the first letter of the word "emet" meaning truth or
“reality” from the creature's forehead leaving the Hebrew word "met",
meaning “dead”. The golem according to the legend is stored in the attic of a
Synagogue, where it can be restored to life again if ever needed.
The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920) a prequel to The Golem which was directed by Paul Wegener
and Carl Boese. Written by Wegener and
Henrik Galeen, the script was adapted from the 1915 novel The Golem by Gustav
Meyrink and once again Wegener reprised his role as the golem. The Golem: How He Came Into the World
(1920) is considered to be of the most excellent examples of German
Expressionism in film.
Although nearly forgotten, Paul Wegener has unquestionably made
the largest and longest lasting impact on the horror genre than any other
single artist. His influence can be found in films, such as The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Frankenstein (1931), Metropolis (1927) and
many more films through the proceeding decades.
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