Happy Thanksgiving, Old Spirituals readers! Though this isn’t a Thanksgiving-themed post, I’m very grateful for all of you!

Musical accompaniment: Someday Sweetheart by Jelly Roll Morton.

 

The Germans made excellent silent films. I’m no connoisseur but in my opinion, they were way ahead of everyone else in this area.

Part of it was the Germans’ talent for brilliant film sets.  The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) had a nightmarish set with jagged lines that went a long way toward establishing this film as one of the most memorable horror movies ever made. Some of the scenes were tinted in blue or orange. I’ll add a link to the movie at the end of the post.

The set of Metropolis (1927) is pointed out as an excellent example of German expressionism. It’s instantly recognizable to millions of people, even today, 97 years after its release.

While the United States did well with silent comedy, the Germans excelled with social commentary and drama like Metropolis and Pandora’s Box (1929), which starred Louise Brooks as Lulu, an irresistible woman who brings ruin everywhere she goes.

 

I slipped down the German silent film rabbit hole only because I found some interesting promotional pictures to share of the Danish actor, Olaf Fönss. He was one the biggest stars in Germany during the silent era.

Olaf’s breakout role was in a film called Homunculus. He starred as a perfect creature, manufactured as a baby that was created in a lab. As he grows up, Olaf discovers he has no soul and decides to revenge himself on mankind.  He becomes “a monstrous but beautiful tyrant, relentlessly pursued by his creator-father who seeks to rectify his mistake.”

Here’s a picture of Olaf Fönss and Gudrun Brunn in Der Pfarrer am Meere (The Priest by the Sea)

Olaf Fönss in Die Sueche (The Addictions)

And in Homunculus (Small Human Creature)

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Want to watch The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari? It must be your lucky day!