''Cagliostro'' is a 1929 silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Richard Oswald and starring

Hans Stüwe Hans Stüwe (14 May 1901 – 13 May 1976) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * '' Prinz Louis Ferdinand'' (1927) * ''Potsdam'' (1927) * ''The Transformation of Dr. Bessel'' (1927) * ''The Bordello in Rio'' (1927) * '' Assassination'' ( ...

, Renée Héribel and

Alfred Abel Alfred Peter Abel (12 March 1879 – 12 December 1937) was a German film actor, director, and producer. He appeared in more than 140 silent and sound films between 1913 and 1938. His best-known performance was as Joh Fredersen in Fritz Lang' ...

. It depicts the life of the eighteenth century

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

occultist The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

Alessandro Cagliostro Count Alessandro di Cagliostro (, ; 2 June 1743 – 26 August 1795) was the alias of the Italian occultist Giuseppe Balsamo (; in French usually referred to as Joseph Balsamo). Cagliostro was an Italian adventurer and self-styled magician ...

, portraying him more sympathetically than in most other works.Prawer p. 86 It was based on a novel by Johannes von Guenther.

Cast

Release

''Caligostro'' premiered in Berlin on 8 April 1929. It was later shown in Paris on 21 May 1929. In the early 1930s,

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

planned a ''Cagliostro'' film starring

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film '' Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

in the title role, which was later re-written into the script for ''

The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places *Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States *Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in Par ...

''.

Reception

A reviewer in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' commented on the film on a screening in Germany, stating that "Richard Oswald always gets somebody to invest money again in his productions and always turns out about the same sort of product. A lot of pomp, scenery and costumes and nothing that grips in the acting line." and that Oswald "leaves Continental audiences as cold as he would American ones."

References

Bibliography

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External links

* 1929 films 1920s historical films 1920s biographical films French historical films French biographical films German historical films German biographical films Films of the Weimar Republic German silent feature films French silent feature films Films directed by Richard Oswald Films based on German novels Films set in France Films set in the 18th century Films about Alessandro Cagliostro Works about the Affair of the Diamond Necklace Cultural depictions of Louis XVI Films about Marie Antoinette German black-and-white films 1920s German films 1920s French films {{1920s-Germany-film-stub