''The Hunchback and the Dancer'' (german: Der Bucklige und die Tänzerin) is a 1920 silent German

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

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 ...

and photographed by

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 ...

. This is now considered to be 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 ...

. The film was written by

Carl Mayer Carl Mayer (20 November 1894 – 1 July 1944) was an Austrians, Austrian screenwriter who wrote or co-wrote the screenplays to ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), ''The Head of Janus'' (1920), ''The Haunted Castle (1921 film), The Haunted C ...

, who also wrote ''

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, ...

'' (1920). Karl Freund later emigrated to Hollywood where he directed such classic horror films as ''The Mummy'' (1932) and ''Mad Love'' (1935).Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 223.. It premiered at the

Marmorhaus The Marmorhaus (English: Marble House) is a former cinema located on the Kurfürstendamm in Berlin. Opened in 1913, it takes its name from a large marble façade. Designed by the architect Hugo Pál, the walls of the foyer and auditorium were dec ...

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 ...

Plot

A repulsive

hunchback Kyphosis is an abnormally excessive convex curvature of the spine as it occurs in the thoracic and sacral regions. Abnormal inward concave ''lordotic'' curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis. It can result fr ...

named James Wilton changes his relationship with women when he discovers a diamond mine in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

. A young woman named Gina, on the rebound from an earlier relationship, begins dating him. Later when she decides to break up with him and go back to her former lover, the hunchback manages to taint her with a poisonous substance that will kill anyone who kisses her. After two of her paramours die before her eyes, she finally catches on that he had contaminated her, and she decides to get revenge by luring the hunchback into kissing her himself.

Cast

Sascha Gura Sascha Gura (born Eugenie Therese Gura; 9 June 1896 – 1 April 1946) was a German stage and film actress active in the silent era.Hardt p.218 Selected filmography * '' The Dance of Death'' (1919) * '' The Hunchback and the Dancer'' (1920) * '' ...

as Gina *

John Gottowt John Gottowt (15 June 1881 – 29 August 1942) was an Austrian actor, stage director and film director for theatres and silent movies. He was born as Isidor Gesang in Lemberg, Austria-Hungary (present-day Lviv, Ukraine) into a Jewish family. Af ...

as James Wilton *

Paul Biensfeldt Paul Biensfeldt (4 March 1869 – 2 April 1933) was a German-JewishSiegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn Books (2007), p. 213 stage and film actor. Selected filmogra ...

as Smith * Henri Peters-Arnolds as Percy * Bella Polini as Tänzerin *

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 ...

(unconfirmed) *

Lyda Salmonova Lyda Salmonova (born Ludmila Vilemina Anna Salmonova; 14 July 1889 – 18 November 1968) was a Czech stage and film actress who appeared primarily in German films. She was married to the actor Paul Wegener and appeared alongside him in a number o ...

(unconfirmed) *

Anna von Palen Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 122 ...

as Smith's mother

References

External links

* 1920 films 1920 horror films 1920 lost films German silent feature films German black-and-white films Films of the Weimar Republic Films directed by F. W. Murnau Lost horror films Films with screenplays by Carl Mayer Lost German films German horror films Silent horror films 1920s German films {{1920s-horror-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links