SILENT FILMS
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ATLANTIS ( 1932 )
A man in the foreign legion discovers the lost civilization of Atlantis in the Sahara desert, and comes under the spell of its queen.
A brief history of "L'Atlantide:"
The novel by Pierre Benoit was first filmed in 1921 in France by director Jacques Feyder. At the time it was the most expensive French film ever, but it went on to great commercial success in France and abroad.
Germany's most accomplished director, G.W. Pabst (Joyless Street, Pandora's Box, The Threepenny Opera, etc.), re-made it in 1932 as "Die Herrin von Atlantis" with Brigitte Helm. French and English versions were made at the same time on the same sets. Helm re-shot her scenes speaking French and then English. Some of the other actors also repeated their roles though some substitutes were made because of the language. The English language version (not dubbed) is the one being offered.
ABOUT 70 min. $24.95
FAHRMANN MARIA (FERRYMAN MARIA) in 1936.
In a small German village in the present (that is, early 1930s) time surrounded by marshes the only link with the outside world is a manually operated ferryboat. One night the ferryboat operator, an elderly man (Karl Plaaten), is aroused from his sleep to ferry a passenger. The passenger is a mysterious stranger dressed in black (Peter Voss); Death himself. The stranger steps on to the ferry and halfway across the water the ferryboat operator succumbs to death. The next day the job is posted in the village but no one wants to take it. A young homeless girl, Maria (Sybille Schmitz), arrives in the village, applies for the position and is hired. She moves in to the ferryboat operator’s shack.
Soon after beginning her job she hears cries for help in the marshes. She finds a young man (Arribert Mog) who is hiding from more mysterious strangers dressed in black and on horseback. After taking the young man into her shack she refuses to answer the strangers’ ringing to be ferried. Finally they give up and leave. In the shack she nurses him back to health. In a semi-delirium, he tells of how he must return to his homeland and fight the enemy (not named specifically) who threatens it. He regains his strength and promises to return to her. Death again appears on the opposite shore but Maria refuses to ferry him.
During the village festival Death again appears among the crowds. Maria recognizes him and at first takes refuge in a church. She then manages to steer him away from the young man leading him into the marshes. Death looses his footing and sinks into the swamp while Maria manages to cross to dry land. She has offered herself in place of her beloved and in turn conquered Death. She returns to the young man, he fully recovers and prepares to leave. She leaves with him declaring that his homeland now belongs to the both of them.
About 70+ Min. $24.95
SEVEN FOOTSTEPS OF SATAN (1929) Thelma Todd, Louise Fazenda. [Italian subtitled]
( Cannot find any Information on this film. Any Short film History will be appreciated.)
70?+ Min's $24.95
THE MECHANICAL MAN (1919)
( No Film History Information Available yet. Anyone with a Film History and better Print please contact me.)
About 60+ Min's. (Poor Copy) $20.00
UNHOLY TALES ( Funf Geschichten) (1932)
FUNF GESCHICTEN (1932/Roto Film/Oswald) 89mins. BW. Germany.
Aka: UNHOLY TALES; UNHEIMLICHE GESCHICHTEN; EXTRAORDINARY TALES; ASYLUM OF HORROR; THE LIVING DEAD. (US).
Credits: Dir: Richard Oswald; Gabriel Pascal; Sc: Heinz Goldberg & Eugen Szatmari; Ph: Heinrich Gertner. From stories by Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Louis Stevenson.
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Cast: Paul Wegener, Harald Paulsen, Bert Reisfeld, Roma Bahn, Mary Parker, John Gottowt, Paul Henckels, Ilse Feurstenberg, Viktor de Kowa.
Three short stories.
The Black Cat. A scientist, (Wegener), is driven to murder his nagging wife, so he walls her up in a cellar. He is finally caught and locked in an asylum.
Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether. A patient, (Wegener), in an asylum imprisons the wardens, and releases the inmates to take charge.
The Suicide Club. From a story by Stevenson.
Now in charge of the institution, the scientist, (Wegener), turns the asylum into a "Suicide Club" that results in a climatic duel between two opponents.
Wegener's characters are constantly being chased by the police in each tale.
Wegener makes his sound debut in this first attempt to parody the qualities of the golden age of German expressionist cinema. The result is a surprisingly good black-comedy, a rarity in the history of German cinema.
For the American market, and to cash in on the second horror cycle, it was badly re-edited and unfortunately lost most of the interesting comedy elements.
89 Min's. $24.95
THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE
(1935) BW. Sound. Austria.
Credits: Dir: Arthur Robison; Sc: Hans Kyser; Ph: Bruno Mondi; Art: Hermann Warm; Mus: Theo Mackeben. Based on the short story "William Wilson" by Edgar Allan Poe.
Cast: Adolph Wohlbrock (Anton Walbrook), Dorothy Wieck, Theodor Loos, Erich Fiedler, Edna Greyff, Carl Hellmer, Volker von Collande, Fritz Genschow, Elsa Wagner, Franz Zimmerman.
Filmed in Vienna and featuring several musical numbers, with little of the haunting qualities of its predecessors.
85 Min's. $14.95
MACISTE IN HELL (1926/Excelsior/Olympia) BW. Silent. Italy.
Credits: Dir:Guido Brigone; Sfx: Segundo de Chomon. Loosely adapted from Dante's "Inferno".
Cast: Bartolomeo Pagano.
Satan is depicted as a huge demon frozen in a lake of ice, with Brutus, Cassius and Judas in his three mouths. Maciste enters the realm of the dead to battle with the demons.
Released in the United States in 1931.
60+ Min's $24.95