The Student of Prague (1913 film)
Encyclopedia
The Student of Prague is a 1913
German
silent
horror film
. The film was remade in 1926
, 1935, and 2004 under the same title The Student of Prague
.
). The student hurriedly signs the contract, but doesn't know what he's in for.
A long plot summary is given by psychologist Otto Rank
in The Double (1971; originally "Der Doppelgänger" in Imago III.2, 1914, 97-164).
The film is referenced in the detective story "The Image in the Mirror
" by Dorothy Sayers, in which Lord Peter Wimsey
helps clear Mr. Duckworthy, a man wrongly suspected of murder. Among other things Duckworthy tells:
(In the story, Mr. Duckworthy had what seemed a similar experience - but Wimsey eventually proves that it had a rational explanation involving no supernatural agency).
1913 in film
The year 1913 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* The Squaw Man, the first Hollywood feature film, is made.* December 29, Charlie Chaplin signs a contract with Mack Sennett to begin making films at Keystone Studios.* D. W...
German
Cinema of Germany
Cinema in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema has made major technical and artistic contributions to film.Unlike any other national cinemas, which developed in the context of relatively continuous and stable political systems, Germany witnesses major changes to its...
silent
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
. The film was remade in 1926
1926 in film
-Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....
, 1935, and 2004 under the same title The Student of Prague
The Student of Prague (1926 film)
The Student of Prague is a 1926 silent film by actor and filmmaker Henrik Galeen. It is a remake of The Student of Prague , directed by Stellan Rye. It is considered as Galeen's most important film since The Golem, which he co-directed in 1915 with Paul Wegener...
.
Plot
A poor student rescues a beautiful countess and soon becomes obsessed with her. A sorcerer makes a deal with the young man to give him fabulous wealth and anything he wants, if he will sign his name to a contract (i.e. make a Deal with the DevilDeal with the Devil
Deal With The Devil is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Lizzy Borden released in 2000 .A return to form, featuring a cover by Todd McFarlane.2 covers were recorded...
). The student hurriedly signs the contract, but doesn't know what he's in for.
A long plot summary is given by psychologist Otto Rank
Otto Rank
Otto Rank was an Austrian psychoanalyst, writer, teacher and therapist. Born in Vienna as Otto Rosenfeld, he was one of Sigmund Freud's closest colleagues for 20 years, a prolific writer on psychoanalytic themes, an editor of the two most important analytic journals, managing director of Freud's...
in The Double (1971; originally "Der Doppelgänger" in Imago III.2, 1914, 97-164).
The film is referenced in the detective story "The Image in the Mirror
The Image in the Mirror
"The Image in the Mirror" is short story by Dorothy L. Sayers, featuring Lord Peter Wimsey and published as the first story in Hangman's Holiday.-Plot summary:...
" by Dorothy Sayers, in which Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...
helps clear Mr. Duckworthy, a man wrongly suspected of murder. Among other things Duckworthy tells:
"When I was seven or eight, my mother took me with her to see a film called "The Student of Prague".(...) It was a costume piece about a young man at the university who sold himself to the devilDeal with the DevilDeal With The Devil is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Lizzy Borden released in 2000 .A return to form, featuring a cover by Todd McFarlane.2 covers were recorded...
, and one day his reflection came stalking out of the mirror on its own, and went about committing dreadful crimes, so that everybody thought it was him".
(In the story, Mr. Duckworthy had what seemed a similar experience - but Wimsey eventually proves that it had a rational explanation involving no supernatural agency).
Cast
- Paul WegenerPaul WegenerPaul Wegener was a German actor, writer and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema.-Stage and early film career:...
as Balduin - John GottowtJohn GottowtJohn Gottowt was a German actor, stage director and film director for theatres and silent movies.He was born as Isidor Gesang in Lemberg, Austria-Hungary. After his education in Vienna, he joined the Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 1905, working for Max Reinhardt as an actor and director...
as Scapinelli - Grete Berger as Countess Margit
- Lyda Salmonova as Lyduschka
- Lothar Körner as Count von Schwarzenberg
- Fritz Weidemann as Baron Waldis-Schwarzenberg