''Der Januskopf'' () is a 1920 German
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
directed by
F. W. Murnau
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter.
He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at t ...
. The film was an adaptation of
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
's 1886 novella ''
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...
''. Little is known about the production; it was shot and previewed under the title ''Schrecken'' () with production starting in either February or March 1920.
The film received great acclaim in Germany from trade publication and newspapers on its release, specifically noting the performance by
Conrad Veidt
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laugh ...
. The film is a
lost film
A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress.
Conditions
During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...
and has been described by
Bela Lugosi biographers Gary Rhodes and Bill Kaffenberger as being "among the most sought-after lost films" due to its initial critical acclaim and what
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
researcher Steve Joyce described as an "all-star" film team of cinematographer Karl Freund, director F. W. Murnau and actors
Conrad Veidt
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laugh ...
and
Bela Lugosi.
Plot
The surviving script for the film refers to Dr.Jeskyll who lives in London. Jeskyll purchases a bust in an antique store with two faces: one beautiful and one horrible. The bust becomes an obsession to Jeskyll who attempts to give it away in an auction only to buy it back.
Cast
Cast adapted from
Filmportal.de
filmportal.de is an online database of information related to German film. It includes extensive information on films and filmmakers as well as articles on film issues. The website was released on occasion of the 54th Berlin International Film Fe ...
and Gary Don Rhodes and Bill Kaffenberger's ''Becoming Dracula - The Early Years of Bela Lugosi''.
Production
The film was developed under the name ''Schrecken'' () and directed by
F.W. Murnau
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter.
He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at t ...
at an early point of what would become authors Gary Don Rhodes and Bill Kaffenberger described as "illustrious career in Germany and America". At this point, Murnau had only directed three feature films.
The film is based on
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
's novella ''
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...
'' (1886). The screenplay for the film was written by
Hans Janowitz
Hans Janowitz (2 December 1890 – 25 May 1954) was a German author.
Janowitz was an officer in World War I, but returned from it as a pacifist. Shortly after the war ended, he met the similarly minded Carl Mayer in Berlin, who suggested he wo ...
. Exactly when the film titled ''Schrecken'' was shot is hard to determine. One published production calendar suggest it was shot in late February 1920 but as the cinematographer for the film
Karl Freund
Karl W. Freund, A.S.C. (January 16, 1890 – May 3, 1969) was an Austrian cinematography, cinematographer and film director best known for photographing ''Metropolis (1927 film), Metropolis'' (1927), ''Dracula (1931 English-language film), Dracul ...
was not reported as hired until March 6, it is possible it was shortly after. Little is known about the film's production outside an industry trade later claiming that star
Conrad Veidt
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laugh ...
had to "undergo training to be able to take his shaggy hair and turn it into something fashionable". Unlike Murnau's ''
Nosferatu
''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...
'', the film did not hide its origin story with published ads in ''
Film-Kurier'' and ''
Lichtbild-Buhne'' noting its origin to Stevenson's novella.
Release and reception
The film had a trade preview under the title ''Schrecken'' in late April 1920. According to review from this period, the characters names are given as Jekyll rather than Jeskyll. On the trade preview from April 1920, the film received praise from publications ''Lichtbild-Bühne'' and ''Film-Kurier'', both specifically noting
Conrad Veidt
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laugh ...
's performance. Following a screening on June 20, a critic in ''Neue Kino-Rundschau'' declared that the film "belongs to the best that German film art has produced. The direction by F.W. Murnau is a textbook example and Konrad Veidt gives an unsurpassed masterly performance."
The production company Lipow-Film struck a distribution deal with
Decla-Bishop due to the popular response the previews. When ''Schrecken'' premiered at Berlin's
Marmorhaus-Lichtspiele on August 26, 1920, it had a new title of ''Der Januskopf'' and was subtitled ''eine Tragödie am Rande der Wirklichkeit'' (). In this version, the characters of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are changed to Dr. Warren and Mr. O'Connor respectively. Following the films premiere, Rhodes and Kaffenberger found the industry reviews to be "overwhelmingly positive" with ''Lichtbild-Bühne'' finding the film to be "a great success on account of its breathtaking suspense, and that Conrad Veidt is to be heartily congratulated for his unsurpassable, masterful performance.” while ''Der Film'' stated it was "fabulously suspenseful," with "superb" acting and "excellent" cinematography. Another review in ''
Erste Internationale Film-Zeitung'' went ont to say the film recalled ''
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (german: Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari) is a 1920 German silent horror film, directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. Considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema, ...
'' and that "generally speaking, one can say that this new drama is equal to Caligari, and even outdoes it in a few gripping scenes" and that Veidt "has completely outdone himself – and all his previous performances."
According to ''Lichtbild-Bühne'', the film was popular with German audiences, stating that the film “has achieved widespread success, which we had predicted….” Despite some sources stating the film was released in the United States as ''Love's Mockery'', that was actually the title for Murnau's ''
Der Gang in die Nacht
''Journey into the Night'' () is the third studio album by Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter William Wei. It was released on March 25, 2014, by Linfair Records. The album consists of 11 tracks. The theme of the album is about fears and it drew ...
'' (1921). It was released in the Netherlands under the title ''Het Geheim van Dr. Warren'' ().
Legacy
Rhodes and Kaffenberger stated the film was "among the most sought-after lost films". Steve Joyce discussed the urgency related to the film being found in his overview of silent era ''The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' adaptations, specifically the interest in grand contemporary reviews and an "all-star creative team" noting Veidt, Murnau, Freund and
Bela Lugosi in a small role as a butler.
See also
*
1920 in science fiction
The year 1920 was marked, in science fiction, by the following events.
Births and deaths
Births
* January 2: Isaac Asimov, American writer, (died 1992).
* May 9:
**William Tenn, American writer (died 2010)
** Richard George Adams, British wr ...
*
Bela Lugosi filmography
Bela Lugosi (1882–1956), best known for the original screen portrayal of Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1931, was in many movies during the course of his 39-year film career. He appeared in films made in his native Hungary, Germany and New York before ...
*
List of German films of 1920
References
External links IMDB listing for German films made in 1920
List of lost films
For this list of lost films, a lost film is defined as one of which no part of a print is known to have survived. For films in which any portion of the footage remains (including trailers), see List of incomplete or partially lost films.
Reas ...
References
Sources
*
*
External links
*
''Der Januskopf'' at SilentEra*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Januskopf, Der
1920 films
German black-and-white films
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde films
Films directed by F. W. Murnau
Films of the Weimar Republic
German silent feature films
Films produced by Erich Pommer
Lost German films
1920 lost films
1920s German films