Germany, 1928
108m
35mm film, black and white, 1.33:1
silent
A German science fiction film directed by Henrik Galeen.
Plot Summary
A mad scientist uses semen from a dead man to artificially inseminate a prostitute. His experiment creates a beautiful young woman who turns out to be fatally flawed – she has no conscience and is unable to understand why it’s wrong to kill.
Credits
Crew
Director: Henrik Galeen
Ama-Film GmbH
Producer: Helmut Schreiber
Script: Henrik Galeen, Hanns Heinz Ewers
Based on characters from Jewish legend and from the novel Alraune by Hanns Heinz Ewers
Director of Photography: Franz Planer
Music: Willy Schmidt-Gentner
Art Director: Max Heilbronner
Architect: Walter Reimann
Cast
Brigitte Helm (Alraune ten Brinken)
Paul Wegener (Professor Jakob ten Brinken)
Iván Petrovich (Franz Braun)
Wolfgang Zilzer (Wölfchen)
Louis Ralph (the magician)
Hans Trautner (the tamer)
John Loder (the viscount)
Mia Pankau (the prostitute)
Valeska Gert (a girl from the street)
Georg John (the murderer)
Alexander Sascha (man in the coupé)
Heinrich Schroth (man in the bar)
Alternative Titles
Mandrake
Unholy Love
Mandrágora – Spain
La Mandragora – Italy
References
Periodicals
- Illustrierter Film-Kurier no.802 – review
- Mein Film no.149 (1928) – review
Books
- Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror (2nd edition) p.39 – credits, review
- Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction by Phil Hardy (ed). p.76-77 – illustrated credits, review
- Cinematic Vampires by John L. Flynn pp.22-23
- Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby pp.37, 44
- Horror and Science Fiction Films: A Checklist by Donald C. Willis pp.21-22 – credits
- Horror in Silent Films: A Filmography, 1896-1929 by Roy Kinnard p.212
- Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee p.10-11 – credits
- Silent Films, 1877-1996: A Critical Guide to 646 Movies by Robert K. Klepper pp.453-454
- Vintage Science Fiction Films, 1896-1949 by Michael Benson p.133 – credits
