''The Doll Maker of Kiang-Ning'' (german: Der Puppenmacher von Kiang-Ning) is a 1923

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 **Ge ...

silent fantasy film directed by Robert Wiene and starring

Werner Krauss Werner Johannes Krauss (''Krauß'' in German; 23 June 1884 – 20 October 1959) was a German stage and film actor. Krauss dominated the German stage of the early 20th century. However, his participation in the antisemitic propaganda film ''Jud S ...

Lia Eibenschütz Lia Eibenschütz (1899–1985) was a German actress. She was married to the actor Kurt Vespermann with whom she had a son Gerd Vespermann who also became an actor. Selected filmography * '' The War of the Oxen'' (1920) * '' The Legend of Holy S ...

, and Ossip Runitsch. A doll maker in China crafts a puppet which he is convinced is lifelike. He takes it to exhibit at a public event, but is outraged to find an even more convincing and beautiful doll there. It is in fact a real woman pretending to be a doll, but he becomes so obsessed he attempts to steal her and the film ends with her rescue and his tragic death. The film had its

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in November 1923. It received a universally negative reception from critics who were particularly unimpressed by the attempt to portray Chinese culture using German actors. The film continues a wider theme in the director Robert Wiene's work which contrasts

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and Eastern cultures.

Cast

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1923 films Films of the Weimar Republic German silent feature films German fantasy drama films Films directed by Robert Wiene Films set in China Films with screenplays by Carl Mayer German black-and-white films 1920s fantasy drama films 1923 drama films Silent drama films 1920s German films {{fantasy-film-stub