''The Mysterious Mirror'' (german: Der geheimnisvolle Spiegel), aka ''The Mystic Mirror'' is a 1928

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

silent

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...

directed by

Carl Hoffmann Carl Hoffmann (9 June 1885, in Neisse – 13 July 1947) was a German cinematographer and film director. Selected filmography Cinematographer * '' The Vice'' (1915) * ''Dr. Hart's Diary'' (1917) * '' Wedding in the Eccentric Club'' (1917) * ''T ...

and Richard Teschner, and starring

Fee Malten Fee Malten (1911–2005) was a German film actress, who later emigrated to the United States. Born in Berlin as Felicitas Mansch, Malten appeared as a leading lady in both silent and sound films of the late Weimar era. Due to her Jewish backgrou ...

Fritz Rasp Fritz Heinrich Rasp (13 May 1891 – 30 November 1976) was a German film actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1916 and 1976. His obituary in '' Der Spiegel'' described Rasp as "the German film villain in service, for over 60 years." ...

and

Rina De Liguoro Rina De Liguoro (24 July 1892 – 15 April 1966) was an Italian film actress. Born Elena Caterina Catardi, she changed her name after marrying film actor and director Wladimiro De Liguoro in 1918. She appeared in leading roles in a number of It ...

. The film was about a magic mirror which allowed the person looking into it to see his or her future, a theme that appeared similarly in the 1945 British horror film ''Dead of Night''. The magazine ''Film und Volk'', which was invariably hostile to

UFA Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...

releases, described it as "about the limit of what an audience could be expected to tolerate in the way of stale Gothic Romance and unlikely psychology".Kreimeier p. 167

Plot

A mirror in a creepy old Bavarian castle has the magical ability to reveal the future of whoever looks into it while the full moon shines brightly. A series of characters looks into the glass to learn their fate, and most are unhappy with what they learn. In the end, the hero smashes the glass and then commits suicide. After he is dead, the mirror magically reassembles itself into a whole as before.

Cast

as Anna *

as reicher Mann *

as Freundin des reichen Mannes *

Eduard von Winterstein Eduard Clemens Franz Anna Freiherr von Wangenheim (1 August 1871 – 22 July 1961), known as Eduard von Winterstein, was an Austrian-German film actor who appeared in over one hundred fifty German films during the silent and sound eras. He was ...

as Schloßverwalter *

Dante Cappelli Dante Cappelli (6 January 1866 – 12 May 1948) was an Italian actor. He appeared in 71 films between 1909 and 1937. He was born in Velletri, Italy and died in Rome. Selected filmography * ''Carmen'' (1909) - Escamillo * ''Macbeth (1909 I ...

as Schloßkastellan *

Wolf Albach-Retty Wolf Albach-Retty (born Wolfgang Helmuth Albert Albach; 28 May 1906 – 21 February 1967) was an Austrian actor. He was the father of Romy Schneider with the German actress Magda Schneider. Career Born as Wolfgang Helmuth Albert Albach in Vienna ...

as Bildhauer *

Max Magnus Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

as Sein Freund *

Alice Kempen Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

as Großmagd *

Heinrich Gretler Heinrich Gretler (1897–1977) was a Swiss film and television actor, who also starred on stage at the Bernhard-Theater in Zurich. Selected filmography * '' The Mysterious Mirror'' (1928) * ''Struggle for the Matterhorn'' (1928) * ''The Man w ...

as Großknecht

Production

Co-director Hoffmann, being more of a cinematographer, was more at home handling the technical effects involved in filmmaking and preferred to allow a co-director (such as Teschner) to work with the actors. His career involved working on films with directors including

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

and

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 ...

. Actor Fritz Rasp played villains in a number of films including ''Metropolis'' and, in the 1960s, several German Edgar Wallace crime thrillers.

References

Bibliography

* Kreimeier, Klaus. ''The Ufa Story: A History of Germany's Greatest Film Company, 1918–1945''. University of California Press, 1999.

External links

* 1928 films Films of the Weimar Republic 1920s fantasy films German silent feature films German fantasy films Films directed by Carl Hoffmann UFA GmbH films German black-and-white films 1920s German films {{fantasy-film-stub