Alraune (1928 film)

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Alraune
Directed by Henrik Galeen
Produced by Helmut Schreiber
Written by Hanns Heinz Ewers(novel)
Henrik Galeen
Starring Brigitte Helm
Paul Wegener
Music by Willy Schmidt-Gentner
Cinematography Franz Planer
Release date(s) January 25, 1928
Running time 108mins
Country Flag of Germany Germany
Language silent film
German intertitles
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Alraune is a 1928 silent science fiction horror film directed by Henrik Galeen and starring Brigitte Helm in which a prostitute is artificially inseminated with the semen of a hanged man. The story is based upon the legend of Alraune and the powers of the mandrake root to impregnate women. In this version the symbiosis caused by the sexual union between the human and the root causes the girl to kill all men who fall in love with her.

The film was produced by Ama-Film GmbH and distributed by Ama-Film GmbH in Germany and Ufa Film Company in the United States with English intertitles. The art direction was by Max Heilbronner and Walter Reimann with still photos by Walter Lichtenstein

Contents

[edit] Cast

  • Brigitte Helm as Alraune ten Brinken
  • Paul Wegener as Prof. Jakob ten Brinken
  • Iván Petrovich as Franz Braun
  • Wolfgang Zilzer as Wölfchen
  • Louis Ralph as Der Zauberkünstler
  • Hans Trautner as Der Dompteur
  • John Loder as Der Vicomte
  • Mia Pankau as Die Dirne
  • Valeska Gert as Ein Mädchen von der Gasse
  • Georg John as Der Mörder
  • Alexander Sascha as Ein Herr im Coupé
  • Heinrich Schroth as Ein Herr in der Bar

[edit] Critical Reaction

The film has received a generally more positive reaction than the other versions based on the same myth. it has been described by leading science fiction author David Wingrove in his Science Fiction Source Book as "a frightening, erotic and highly emotional film with fine cinematography".

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[edit] References