WAXWORKS (1924) – The Dungeon Review!

Waxworks will round out my hattrick of German expressionistic silent horror films. My next review will be for an American made silent horror film. Waxworks is unique for being an early anthology. The film is comprised of three short films based on figures featured in a waxworks exhibit at a carnival. We get a glimpse of a character in a black hat when we first enter the waxworks exhibit. This character was originally the subject of a fourth story that Paul Leni eliminated. The film actually seemed in need of a fourth segment; it had the feeling of an unfinished work to me. Two of the segments are at the half hourish mark and the final piece is less than ten minutes! The final story was so ridiculously short it felt awkward. It is reassuring to know that even early anthologies had a weak link. I am not saying the perfect anthology doesn’t exist, I just have never seen it. Most anthologies have a film that just doesn’t cut it; or at least one you are less fond of than the others. The weak link for me was the first story based on Haroun-Al-Raschid; Caliph of Bagdad starring Emil Jannings as the Caliph. The tale is an adventure comedy type thing that just did not tickle me much; although I did chuckle a few times. It was unnecessarily long and the narrative began to feel redundant. The middle segment based on Ivan the Terrible “Czar of all the Russias” starred Conrad Veidt. The Czar’s story was my favourite by far. I do have a bit of a crush on Conrad Veidt and I won’t lie to you, it gained points for it. The man is extremely talented. The final spot featuring Spring-heeled Jack aka Jack the Ripper was interesting and trippy but as mentioned was far too short and the ending was very blunt. I liked the idea of the characters in the wraparound also having roles in the three main stories. A writer, his employer and the employer’s daughter, all three remain nameless throughout are featured in each story. In the wraparound a writer answers a want ad; “Wanted – An imaginative writer for publicity work in a waxworks exhibition.” The young writer is hired immediately and is watched over by the proprietors lovely daughter. The writer concocts three tales each of which feature a role for himself and his employers attractive offspring. Every single expressionistic German silent horror film I have watched the visuals are spectacular, the sets are gorgeous and the costumes are out of this world;Waxworks is certainly no exception. I will get into more detail for each story but I thought wax figures were a fun way to connect the three segments and as regular readers of this blog well know; I really do love my carnivals and circuses. Like Mr. Veidt, they do elevate a film in my mind. I was mad in love with the look of the first section despite not being mad about its story. What I enjoyed about the film I enjoyed excessively and it overcame the films lesser qualities. Waxworks as a whole package was definitely flawed but nonetheless very entertaining.

Below is a photo gallery and details about each story in Waxworks trilogy. But before you read on, check out this awesome live music performance from Mike Patton, Scott Amendola, William Winant and Matthias Bossi from May 17, 2013. You can play it and than read my review and it will be like a live music performance of my review! Mike Patton’s work has been featured on this blog several times this year. Thanks to my friend David at My Kind of Story who introduced me to both Patton’s solo and collaborative work with Fantômas. I have posted several pieces of music from Fantômas; The Director’s Cut and a solo piece from Mike Patton’s soundtrack for Crank: High Voltage.

Haroun-Al-Raschid “Caliph of Bagdad” played by Emil Jannings.

Ivan the Terrible “Czar of all the Russias” played by Conrad Veidt.

Spring-Heeled Jack aka Jack the Ripper played by Werner Krauss.

The writer and his employer’s daughter; the characters are nameless but play a role in each segment. The writer has been hired to write “startling” tales about the above wax figures; Haroun-Al-Raschid, Ivan the Terrible and Jack the Ripper.

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SEGMENT ONE – Haroun-Al-Raschid “Caliph of Bagdad”

The writer concocts a story for the Caliph whose wax figure likeness is missing an arm…

The Caliph blames smoke coming from the home of the local baker for his chess loss and orders his head on a platter.

The Baker (who is played by the nameless writer) feels obligated to prove to his beautiful wife that he is a man worthy of her attentions.

A very cool M. C. Escher-esque set. If you look carefully you can see the Baker using the stairs.

The Baker’s wife with Haroun-Al-Raschid. “My pond-lily, have you a hiding place for a fat man?”

A comedic adventure with a few chuckles and some really astounding visuals. Will the baker’s head be spared? Will the wife leave the baker for the Caliph? Will she find a hiding spot for a fat man? How did the Caliph lose his arm? All questions will be answered!

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SEGMENT TWO – Ivan the Terrible “Czar of all Russias”

Ivan the Terrible plays with his favourite toy; an hour-glass. Ivan is a nasty son of a bitch who rules with a bloodied iron fist and among his tortures enjoys poisoning folks. To his great amusement he uses the hour-glass to mark his dying victims last moments.

A nobleman arrives at the Kremlin to remind the Czar of his promise to attend his daughter’s wedding.

The happy couple and their guests.

Ivan the Terrible arrives.

He steals away the frightened bride.

It does not end the way Ivan the Terrible would like. A rewarding finale, beautiful imagery, a compelling tale and a great performance from Conrad Veidt made this segment bar none my favourite.

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SEGMENT THREE – Spring-Heeled Jack aka Jack the Ripper

Spring-Heeled Jack appears everywhere! Multiple versions of himself…stalking…slashing.

In pursuit of our writer and his lady-love.

Will they escape? This segment was a psychedelic trip of superb imagery but irritatingly short. I would have liked to have seen more!

Dungeon Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Leo Birinsky & Paul Leni

Starring: Emil Jannings, Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss, William Dieterle, Olga Belajeff, John Gottowt

Fun with GIFs: WAXWORKS (1924)

Gifs for two carnival scenes from Leo Birinsky and Paul Leni’s 1924 film Waxworks (1924). You KNOW I am a sucker for a carnival! Tomorrow…my review for Waxworks!

THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920) – The Dungeon Review!

According to Wikipedia Expressionism is: A modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas. Expressionist artists sought to express meaning or emotional experience rather than physical reality. Expressionism was developed as an avant-garde style before the First World War. It remained popular during the Weimar Republic, particularly in Berlin. The style extended to a wide range of the arts, including expressionist architecture, painting, literature, theatre, dance, film and music.

According to Guggenheim Museum (online) Expressionism is: Primarily Germany, and Austria, first decade of 20th century. The very elastic concept of Expressionism refers to art that emphasizes the extreme expressive properties of pictorial form in order to explore subjective emotions and inner psychological truths.

According to Goregirl Expressionism is: A mostly German thing as far as I know. Used in some very freaking cool German silent movies the bestest and shiningest example of which is Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The sets all look artificial and everything is severely angled and exaggerated in size. Every single gorgeous hand-painted set is extremely elaborate and immensely impressive. I dreamt of walking through a Dr. Caligari forest to a Dr. Caligari carnival every night for the past several nights. I’ve dreamt of being chased by letters of the alphabet and being kidnapped by a handsome somnambulist who wears a lot of eyeliner. I can not expressionism myself more clearly when I tell you anyone who loves and appreciates art and all things wonderful, strange and unique must absolutely positively visit Robert Wiene’s amazing The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Viva la Expressionsim!

Writers Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer started the ball rolling with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’s concept. The two were excited by this still very new medium called filmmaking. An endeavor that would bring together artists of all kinds; painters, actors, writers and photographers. The two men admired the work of Paul Wegener (The Student of Prague, Der Golem) and decided to begin work on a horror tale. The men drew on their experiences as all good writers should. Janowitz and Mayer regularly visited a local fair and were inspired by the sideshows; a key part of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’s plot. The film’s visuals were put in the very capable hands of designer Hermann Warm and painters Walter Reimann and Walter Röhrig. Fritz Lang was the first director approached but was committed to another project. Robert Wiene (whose film The Hands of Orloc is the next film in my queue to watch) was brought in to direct and the rest is history. I watched both a black and white and color tinted version of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari but I went with the pics from the color tinted version. I thought the images were sharper in the black and white version but I am a little bit in love with color tint at the moment so I decided to go with that print.

“The following print of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (with the original color tinting and toning) was reconstructed by the Bundesarchiv – Filmarchiv of Germany.”

A small German village called Holstenwall is the setting for our strange tale. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is “A film in six acts written by Carl Mayer and Hans Janowitz.” The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is not only visual eye candy it is also well written and well-performed. It has a perfect eerie atmosphere and a creepy vibe with an intriguing premise that keeps you mesmerized. The performances are all excellent but the iconic role of Cesare the Somnambulist played by the immensely talented Conrad Veidt is particularly memorable.

Francis relays a story to a companion after a dazed woman walks by. The dazed woman is Jane; Francis’ fiancée. “What she and I have lived through is stranger still than what you have lived through.”

This is Francis’ best friend Alan. Alan and himself both have their eye on Jane. The two decide to visit a carnival travelling through town. “Special edition fair in Holstenwall for the first time! Entertainments of every variety.”

“Step Rrrrright Up! Presenting here for the first time Cesare the Somnambulist! The miraculous Cesare twenty-three years old, he has slept for twenty-three years continuously; day and night. Cesare the Somnambulist will answer all your questions. Cesare knows every secret. Cesare knows the past and sees the future. Judge for yourselves. Don’t hold back! Ask Away!”

Alan cannot resist asking Cesare how long he shall live. Cesare tells Alan that he will die at dawn.

Alan and Francis pause to read a post on the wall “Murder in Holstenwall 1000 Mark reward.”

The somnambulist’s prophecy comes true and Alan is murdered at dawn.

Francis goes to the police. “I won’t rest until I get to the bottom of these dreadful deeds!”

Francis tells Jane of Alan’s death.

“Extra! Extra! Holstenwall mystery solved; two-time murderer caught in third attempt.”

“I had nothing to do with the two murders, so help me god.”

Indeed this gentleman has been wrongly accused.

Jane meets Dr. Caligari and Cesare. Dr. Caligari orders the sleeping Cesare to murder nosy Jane but her beauty prevents Cesare from ending her life. Cesare attempts to kidnap her but gets exhausted from the chase.

Back in the safety of her home she tells Francis it was Cesare who tried to abduct her. “It couldn’t be Cesare! He was asleep at the time. I’ve watched him for hours.”

Dr. Caligari.

Francis goes to the Insane Asylum and asks the staff if they have a patient called Caligari. They recommend that Francis speak to the director personally.

“He, himself and none other than Caligari!”

“While the director now placed under observation is sleeping in his villa…” They take the opportunity to snoop through the director/Dr. Caligari’s office and discover a book on somnambulists as well as the doctor’s diary.

“Director, unmask yourself, you are Dr. Caligari!”

The film ends with a great twist although it was not the ending that writers Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer originally wrote for the film. Apparently the producers wanted a less grim ending and suggested the ending that was actually used; which I will not divulge for those who may not have seen it. I have seen close to thirty silent horror films at this point in my life and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is absolutely one of the best and most unique amoung them. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari deserves heaps of praise; it is a hypnotic, creepy and visually spectacular masterpiece.

Dungeon Rating: 5/5

Directed By: Robert Wiene

Starring: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher, Lil Dagover, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Rudolf Lettinger