"Das indische Grabmal" or "The Indian Tomb" is a co-production between West Germany, France and Italy that resulted in this German 100-minute movie from almost 60 years ago and a sequel to "Der Tiger von Eschnapur". If you have the time and endurance for over three hours, it makes total sense to watch these two films in one sitting because this one here follows the other one with literally no time to breathe in terms of the action. The previous film also ends on a cliffhanger. Back then in 1959, the gap was only 1.5 months between the two releases and this is really the longest you should wait as well, even if there is a brief summary of the first film even earlly on for this one here. But even this summary felt a bit shoddy in terms of how they elaborated on the maharajah's brother's (or was it his cousin? no I think brother) ambitions. Another option would be you just skip the second one or even skip both because this watch was far from a revelation. It was one of director Fritz Lang's last works and it is nowhere near as famous as his early silent film classics. Speaking of silent films, there exists a version of this film here from really early, 1921, but right now I do not remember if I liked that one more. Also there is another sound movie from briefly bevore World War II, so this story here was pretty interesting back then apparently. However, it seems as if nobody gave it another go after this version we have here and it's been a long time really since then. Who knows, maybe somebody will eventually. I wouldn't mind and I'd probably check it out. In terms of 1950s films, it's among the most known Germany has to offer. If you see the characters in this film, they may not seem German to you, but do not be fooled by the heavy makeup. Honestly, now I know for example that the maharadjaj is played by a German actor, well Austrian, but to me it looks as if you can see it is fake color on his face or maybe I just think I perceive it like that because I know they are no Arab actors or something. Would be interesting to erase my memory again if I thought the same nonetheless of if they could get me fooled. Anyway, most of the actors are German, which you also realize from the fact that their German is fluent and without accents. However, the film is not as fluent. This also has a bit to do with Debra Paget. She is American and this one of the exceptions, but not surprising to see international actors want to work with Lang. Then again, she is not really a star. Also I kinda felt it was fake how they acted as if she was the ultimate goddess in terms of beauty here. Come on, she is not that stunning and I usually really dig dark-haired girls. Kinda fitting to see she often wore blonde hair, but here the role required her to have Black hair of course because of her exotic character. The male lead is played by Pail Hubschmid. I cannot say too much about him, but I see he is Swiss, so maybe I should correct my statement from "many Germany actors" to "many German-speaking actors". Most of the other cast members here are also pretty experienced and have enjoyed prolific careers. Feel free to check out their bodies of work if you care. Oh and it needs to be said that this film is in color, which is of course not a given for late 50s. This kinda saved the film at times even because honestly the sets and costumes are almost the only bright spot (in the truest sense) this film has to offer and had it been in black-and-white, thenn the almost only reason to watch this movie would be gone as well. Oh by the way, before I go a bit into detail about why I mostly disliked this film, just another random snippet of information: The aforementioned Paget and also Sabine Bethmann are still alive today and have reached a pretty high age. I wonder what they think about this film now, if they like it. If they even care. Perhaps they are also still alive when you come here to read this review. Probably this film with Lang and von Harbou in charge, even if they are more known for their much earlier works, will still be shown on television for decades to come, maybe even in theatres on the occasions of a Lang retrospective.
I gotta say I was already not impressed by Lang's first film from that duology and this one here is at least as forgettable. The story tries to be ambitious from start to finish, but it just never succeeds. It is also an absolute deal breaker how they were really trying too much here. Take a look at the story and literally every single scene is so packed with drama, so packed with danger and characters possibly losing their lives or at least major conflict during dialogues that it was all too much and felt very pretentious. Honestly, with everything going on here, I was surprised how little I cared at all and how bland and boring it all felt. Something is definitely missing. I think sometimes less is more and this is the key issue. Give the audience a chance to breathe for a second (or minute) before you move on to the next escalation.The mediocre range from most of the actors, including the core actors, also does not help at all. It may be an acceptable film in terms of cinematography and the visual side (already mentioned costumes and sets), but in terms of the story, there is really nothing memorable to it, although it tries truly hard to become an epic even, but they come oh so short. In the previous film, a tiger is mentioned in the title even and I think there is also more tiger action (or animal action in general) than with this one here, which is also a bit of a disappointment for me as an animal lover. Camels and horses are included briefly and I am undecided if I liked the lengthy scene with the snake. This somewhat mesmerizing dance sequence where it is all about the female protagonist's life is among the most memorable sequences from this film. I guess it is alright. I think the idea to dance in such a deadly situation is one that is difficult to grasp, but she was literally dancing foor her life there and probably much more likely would have been bitten and killed if she just sat there and cried. So she did the right thing in trying to appease the snake and the goddess too. But it was no great scene either and this being considered one of the highlights does also not really say anything positive about the film as a whole because it shows how the rest is forgettable in almost its entirety. Paget's outfit there was really hot and progressive for a film from before the 1960s even, but then again I also liked her much more simple outfits. The costume design is really the only highlight in this movie, from beginning to end really. Props to Claudia Hahne-Herberg. Shame she is mostly forgotten by now despite working on a handful of movies that are not. Her craft lives on. Good for her. Wish I could say more positive things about other production values here, but it feels almost impossible. I also found it disappointing how they treated certain core aspects from the first film, as if they are totally irrelevant now. One thing I did not expect is how the movie really moved away considerably from the lovebirds at the center of the story and for example also focused more on Bethmann's character or twists linked only to the locals and not to the new arrivals. But this also did not make things better or worse. It still felt mostly wishy-washy. This word exists in English too, doesn't it? Anyway, time to end the review now and I certainly find it sad to see Lang go out on a low note here. Not a failure, but also far away from a positive recommendation. Not recommended. Finally, despite the fantasy elements here or the mythology I could say, this is not really a film for young audiences. There are violent acts happening, even if they gave their best to make them not look too gruesome, like the fight sequences or the scene when the protagonist is a prisoner and kills a guard with his chains. But then again, also quality-wise this is not the stuff you would want your kids to watch. Or anybody else you care about. As I said, go for something else instead, also because here and there I kinda struggled with really remembering and understanding who is who. Maybe just. However, I still stopped caring really quickly, which is never a good thing at all. I can't even hate this movie. Enoguh said. Okay, I could still end this review with something positive (except the costumes) and say you find some pretty nice beard ideas in here. Alright, really enough now. Thanks if you truly made it until here. Must have been as big of a challenge as watching these 100 minutes until the very end. Good news is there is no third film and there never will be.
I gotta say I was already not impressed by Lang's first film from that duology and this one here is at least as forgettable. The story tries to be ambitious from start to finish, but it just never succeeds. It is also an absolute deal breaker how they were really trying too much here. Take a look at the story and literally every single scene is so packed with drama, so packed with danger and characters possibly losing their lives or at least major conflict during dialogues that it was all too much and felt very pretentious. Honestly, with everything going on here, I was surprised how little I cared at all and how bland and boring it all felt. Something is definitely missing. I think sometimes less is more and this is the key issue. Give the audience a chance to breathe for a second (or minute) before you move on to the next escalation.The mediocre range from most of the actors, including the core actors, also does not help at all. It may be an acceptable film in terms of cinematography and the visual side (already mentioned costumes and sets), but in terms of the story, there is really nothing memorable to it, although it tries truly hard to become an epic even, but they come oh so short. In the previous film, a tiger is mentioned in the title even and I think there is also more tiger action (or animal action in general) than with this one here, which is also a bit of a disappointment for me as an animal lover. Camels and horses are included briefly and I am undecided if I liked the lengthy scene with the snake. This somewhat mesmerizing dance sequence where it is all about the female protagonist's life is among the most memorable sequences from this film. I guess it is alright. I think the idea to dance in such a deadly situation is one that is difficult to grasp, but she was literally dancing foor her life there and probably much more likely would have been bitten and killed if she just sat there and cried. So she did the right thing in trying to appease the snake and the goddess too. But it was no great scene either and this being considered one of the highlights does also not really say anything positive about the film as a whole because it shows how the rest is forgettable in almost its entirety. Paget's outfit there was really hot and progressive for a film from before the 1960s even, but then again I also liked her much more simple outfits. The costume design is really the only highlight in this movie, from beginning to end really. Props to Claudia Hahne-Herberg. Shame she is mostly forgotten by now despite working on a handful of movies that are not. Her craft lives on. Good for her. Wish I could say more positive things about other production values here, but it feels almost impossible. I also found it disappointing how they treated certain core aspects from the first film, as if they are totally irrelevant now. One thing I did not expect is how the movie really moved away considerably from the lovebirds at the center of the story and for example also focused more on Bethmann's character or twists linked only to the locals and not to the new arrivals. But this also did not make things better or worse. It still felt mostly wishy-washy. This word exists in English too, doesn't it? Anyway, time to end the review now and I certainly find it sad to see Lang go out on a low note here. Not a failure, but also far away from a positive recommendation. Not recommended. Finally, despite the fantasy elements here or the mythology I could say, this is not really a film for young audiences. There are violent acts happening, even if they gave their best to make them not look too gruesome, like the fight sequences or the scene when the protagonist is a prisoner and kills a guard with his chains. But then again, also quality-wise this is not the stuff you would want your kids to watch. Or anybody else you care about. As I said, go for something else instead, also because here and there I kinda struggled with really remembering and understanding who is who. Maybe just. However, I still stopped caring really quickly, which is never a good thing at all. I can't even hate this movie. Enoguh said. Okay, I could still end this review with something positive (except the costumes) and say you find some pretty nice beard ideas in here. Alright, really enough now. Thanks if you truly made it until here. Must have been as big of a challenge as watching these 100 minutes until the very end. Good news is there is no third film and there never will be.