''Chronicles of the Gray House'' () is a 1925 German silent

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

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-g ...

directed by

Arthur von Gerlach Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more w ...

and starring Paul Hartmann,

Rudolf Forster Rudolf Forster (30 October 1884 – 25 October 1968) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1914 and 1968. His autobiography ''Das Spiel, mein Leben'' was published by Propyläen Verlag in 1967. He was born in Gr� ...

and

Lil Dagover Lil Dagover (; born Marie Antonia Siegelinde Martha Seubert; 30 September 1887 – 23 January 1980) was a German actress whose film career spanned between 1913 and 1979. She was one of the most popular and recognized film actresses in the Weimar ...

. It is also known as ''At the Grey House''. The narrative is set in the 17th century and follows the intrigues when the son of a feudal landowner falls in love with the daughter of one of the serfs, causing his younger brother to see an opportunity for himself. The screenplay by

Thea von Harbou Thea Gabriele von Harbou (27 December 1888 – 1 July 1954) was a German screenwriter, novelist, film director, and actress. She is remembered as the screenwriter of the science fiction film classic ''Metropolis'' (1927) and for the 192 ...

is based on

Theodor Storm Hans Theodor Woldsen Storm (; 14 September 18174 July 1888), commonly known as Theodor Storm, was a German writer. He is considered to be one of the most important figures of German realism. Life Storm was born in the small town of Husum, on th ...

's novella ''A Chapter in the History of Grieshuus''.

Erich Pommer Erich Pommer (20 July 1889 – 8 May 1966) was a German-born film producer and executive. Pommer was perhaps the most powerful person in the German and European film industries in the 1920s and early 1930s. As producer, Erich Pommer was involved ...

produced the film for

Universum Film AG UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA (), is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. Its name derives from Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (normally abbreviated as ...

. Principal photography took place from May 1923 to November 1924 around the

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (german: Lüneburger Heide) is a large area of heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen a ...

and

Neubabelsberg Babelsberg () is the largest quarter (''Stadtteil'') of Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Pala ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Robert Herlth Robert Herlth (2 May 1893 – 6 January 1962) was a German art director. He was one of the leading designers of German film sets during the 1920s and 1930s.Reimer & Reimer p.146 Filmography * ''Masks'' (1920) * '' Island of the Dead'' (1921) * ' ...

and

Walter Röhrig Walter Röhrig (13 April 1897 – 1945) was a German art director.Stephens p.163 Selected filmography * '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920) * ''Masks'' (1920) * ''Parisian Women'' (1921) * '' Island of the Dead'' (1921) * ''Miss Julie'' (192 ...

.Bock & Bergfelder p.194 The premiere took place in Berlin on 11 February 1925.

Cast

Arthur Kraußneck Arthur Kraußneck (born Arthur Carl Gustav Müller; 1856–1941) was a German stage and film actor. Selected filmography * ''The Adventuress of Monte Carlo'' (1921) * '' The Doomed'' (1924) * '' My Leopold'' (1924) * '' Chronicles of the Gray Ho ...

as Burgherr von Grieshuus * Paul Hartmann as Junker Hinrich *

as Junker Detlev *

Rudolf Rittner Rudolf Rittner (30 June 1869 – 4 February 1943) was a German actor born in Weissbach, Moravia, famous for playing knight and folk hero Florian Geyer in Gerhart Hauptmann's drama of the same name. The well-known German painter Lovis Corinth por ...

as Owe Heiken *

as Bärbe *

Gertrude Welcker Gertrude Welcker (16 July 1896 – 1 August 1988) was a German stage and silent film actress. She appeared in 64 films between 1917 and 1925. Biography Gertrude Welcker was born in Dresden on 16 July 1896. Her father, who was editor-in-chief an ...

as Gesine * Gertrud Arnold as Matte * Hanspeter Peterhans as Enzio * Christian Bummerstedt as Christof *

Josef Peterhans Josef Thomas Peterhans (4 December 1882 – 3 February 1960) was a German stage and film actor. Biography Peterhans began his stage career in 1902, aged twenty. He began his film acting career with the film ' in 1916. Before acting in films he ...

as Bereiter

References

Bibliography

* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

* 1925 films Films based on German novels Films based on works by Theodor Storm Films of the Weimar Republic Films set in the 17th century German silent feature films Films with screenplays by Thea von Harbou Films produced by Erich Pommer German black-and-white films 1920s historical drama films German historical drama films UFA GmbH films Films shot at Babelsberg Studios Silent drama films 1920s German films {{Germany-silent-film-stub