Germany, 1920
85m, 91m [USA], 1,954 metres
35mm film, black and white, 1.33:1
silent
A German horror film directed by Carl Boese and Paul Wegener. It is the only one of Wegener’s three golem films (the others being Der Golem (1915) and Der Golem und die Tänzerin (1917)) to have survived.
Plot Summary
In 16th-century Prague, Rabbi Löw creates a clay creature known as the Golem and brings it to life to protect the Jews of the city from persecution. But his evil assistant manages uses the creature to commit crimes and kidnap the rabbi’s beautiful daughter.
Credits
Crew
Directors: Carl Boese, Paul Wegener
Projektions-AG Union
Producer: Paul Davidson
Scenario: Henrik Galeen, Paul Wegener
Novel: Gustav Meyrink
Directors of Photography: Karl Freund, Guido Seeber
Assistant Camera: Robert Baberske
Music: Hans Landsberger; Karl-Ernst Sasse (1977 re-release); Aljoscha Zimmermann (2000 re-release)
Costume Designer: Rochus Gliese
Art Directors: Hans Poelzig, Kurt Richter
Digital Restoration: Hypercube LLC
Studio: Berliner Union-Film Studio, Tempelhof, Berlin, Germany
Cast
Paul Wegener (the golem)
Albert Steinrück (Rabbi Löw)
Lyda Salmonova (Miriam, the rabbi’s daughter)
Ernst Deutsch (rabbi’s servant)
Hanns Sturm [real name: Hans Stürm] (Rabbi Jehuda, the council elder)
Max Kronert (temple servant)
Otto Gebühr (Emperor Luhois)
Dore Paetzold
Lothar Müthel (Florian the knight)
Greta Schröder (little girl with rose)
Loni Nest (little girl)
Alternative Titles
Golem – Poland
El Golem – Spain
Le Golem – France
O Golem – Brazil
The Golem – USA
The Golem: How He Came Into the World – USA
Golem. Miten hän tuli maailmaan – Finland
Links
Remake of
Der Golem (1915)
Remake
Le Golem (1936)
See also
The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XVII (2006)
Extracts included in
100 Years of Horror (1996)
Baba Yaga (1973)
Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood (1995)
Kingdom of Shadows (1998)
Screamplay (1985)
Ti piace Hitchcock? (2005)
References
Periodicals
- Alien Worlds no.14 (March 1965) pp.10-16 – illustrated article (Caligari and others by R.J. Keightley)
- Classic Images no.334 (April 2003) pp25-26 – video review (Video views by John Nangle)
Books
- The 50 Greatest Jewish Movies: A Critic’s Ranking of the Very Best by Kathryn Bernheimer pp. 55-58 – review
- After Dracula: The 1930s Horror Film by Alison Peirse pp.23, 105
- The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror (2nd edition) by Phil Hardy (ed) p.27 – illustrated credits, review
- The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction by Phil Hardy (ed) p.64; 65
- Caligari’s Children: The Film as Tale of Terror by Siegbert Solomon Prawer p.24, 28, 213
- Educational Institutions in Horror Film: A History of Mad Professors, Student Bodies, and Final Exams by Andrew L. Grunzke p.167
- English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby p.17
- Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby pp.22-25, 26, 35, 36, 42, 48
- Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death by James Marriott & Kim Newman p.22
- Horrorshows: The A-Z of Horror in Film, TV, Radio and Theatre by Gene Wright p.87-88 – illustrated credits, review
- Movies of the 20s and Early Cinema by Jürgen Müller pp.82-85 – illustrated credits, review (by PLB [Petra Lange-Berndt])
- Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee pp.169-170 – credits
- Top 100 Horror Movies by Gary Gerani p.145 – illustrated credits, synopsis, review
- Unsung Horrors by Eric McNaughton & Darrell Buxton (eds) pp.111-113 – illustrated review (by Tom Woodger)
- Vintage Science Fiction Films, 1896-1949 by Michael Benson p.150
Other sources
- BFI Southbank Guide May 2019 p.20 – illustrated listing
