Ruth Weyher (the super-lovely wife), Fritz Kortner (the super-jealous husband), Fritz Rasp (the personal servant), Karl Platen (another servant), Lilli Herder (the maid), Alexander Granach (the strange illusionist), Eugen Rex (servant), Gustav von Wangenheim (the lover), Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Max Gulstorf, Ferdinand von Alten (older admirers).
Director: ARTHUR ROBISON. Screenplay: Arthur Robison, Albin Grau, Rudolf Schneider. Photography: Fritz Arno Wagner. Art direction and costume design: Albin Grau. Producers: Willy Seibold and Enrico Dieckmann. PAN Film. German release: 16 October 1923. New York opening at the 55th Street Cinema: 9 August 1927. 85 minutes. (DVD available from Kino. Quality rating: 9 out of ten).
COMMENT: A masterpiece of German expressionist cinema or a boring charade? Critics are not evenly divided. Most opt for the first scenario. Me? I stand in the middle.
"Warning Shadows" is the sort of film that seems better in one's memory of tinted shadowy highlights than in an actual viewing where larger-than-life acting (particularly the over-the-top, bulging-eyed Kortner) is much less acceptable.
Director: ARTHUR ROBISON. Screenplay: Arthur Robison, Albin Grau, Rudolf Schneider. Photography: Fritz Arno Wagner. Art direction and costume design: Albin Grau. Producers: Willy Seibold and Enrico Dieckmann. PAN Film. German release: 16 October 1923. New York opening at the 55th Street Cinema: 9 August 1927. 85 minutes. (DVD available from Kino. Quality rating: 9 out of ten).
COMMENT: A masterpiece of German expressionist cinema or a boring charade? Critics are not evenly divided. Most opt for the first scenario. Me? I stand in the middle.
"Warning Shadows" is the sort of film that seems better in one's memory of tinted shadowy highlights than in an actual viewing where larger-than-life acting (particularly the over-the-top, bulging-eyed Kortner) is much less acceptable.