| The Golem: How He Came Into the World | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Paul Wegener Carl Boese |
| Produced by | Paul Davidson |
| Written by | Henrik Galeen Paul Wegener |
| Starring | Paul Wegener Albert Steinrück Lyda Salmonova Ernst Deutsch Hans Stürm |
| Cinematography | Karl Freund |
| Release date(s) | October 29, 1920 |
| Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | Silent film German intertitles |
The Golem: How He Came Into the World (original German title: Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam) is a 1920 silent horror film by Paul Wegener. It was directed by Carl Boese and Wegener, written by Wegener and Henrik Galeen, and starred Wegener as the golem. The script was adapted from the 1915 novel The Golem by Gustav Meyrink.[1][2][3] The film was the third of three films that Wegener made featuring the golem, the other two being The Golem (1915) and the short comedy The Golem and the Dancing Girl (1917), in which Wegener dons the Golem make-up in order to frighten a young lady he is infatuated with. It is a prequel to The Golem and is today the most widely known of the series.
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The film concerns itself with the legendary creation of the Golem, which had appeared in the earlier film, by Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel. In the 16th century, the Jews of Prague face persecution. Rabbi Loew creates a giant Golem out of clay to protect the people. Unfortunately, the creature rebels, setting fire to the ghetto, and wreaks deadly havoc. In the end, a small girl stops the Golem by removing the amulet in the shape of a pentagram from its chest. After the triumphant final scene the movie ends with the image of a hexagram, symbol of Judaism.
Wegener had been unhappy with his previous attempt to tell the Golem story (Der Golem, 1915) due to compromises he had to make during its production. This second attempt is meant to more directly mimic the legend as he heard it told in Prague while he was filming The Student of Prague (1913).[4]
Architect Hans Poelzig designed the sets, a reproduction of the medieval Jewish ghetto of Prague. He designed them specifically to be filmed, creating highly expressionist imagery. The cinematography of Karl Freund, in collaboration with Poelzig and Wegener, is cited as one of the most outstanding examples of German Expressionism.