''What the Stones Tell'' (German: ''Was Steine erzählen'') is a 1925 German silent historical

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

Rolf Randolf Rolf Randolf (born Rudolf Zanbauer; 15 January 1878 – 29 June 1941) was an Austrian actor, film producer and director. Selected filmography Director * ''Das Geheimnis der Santa Margherita'' (1921) * ''Wallenstein'' (1925) * '' What the Stones ...

and starring

Ernst Rückert Anton Ernst Rückert (20 December 1886 – 3 September 1945) was a German stage and film actor. Rückert began his theatre career in 1908 and has appeared on the stage in Bleicherode, Königsberg and Kiel, among others. In 1910 he took up an eng ...

Fritz Greiner Fritz Greiner (1879–1933) was an Austrian film actor. Selected filmography * ''Der Einäugige'' (1916) * ''Der Klub der Einäugigen'' (1917) - Nick Carter * ''Der schwarze Jack'' (1918) - Cowboy Schwarzer Jack * '' The Hunter of Fall'' (1918 ...

and

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 ...

.Bock & Bergfelder p.536 The film portrays the

Lützow Free Corps Lützow Free Corps ( ) was a volunteer force of the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was named after its commander, Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow. The Corpsmen were also widely known as the “''Lützower Jäger''“ or “''Schwarz ...

of the

Napoleonic Era The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislativ ...

. Its title references a poem about the unit, and is part of the tradition of

Prussian film Prussian films were a cycle of historical films made in Germany during the Weimar (1918–1933) and Nazi (1933–1945) eras noted for their general glorification of Prussian history and its military. The films are set during the eighteenth and ni ...

s. The film's sets were designed by the famous art director

Robert A. Dietrich Robert A. Dietrich (28 March 1889 – 8 September 1947) was a German art director.Scheunemann p.277 He designed the sets for more than a hundred films during his career. Selected filmography * '' The Student of Prague'' (1913) * '' The Path of De ...

Cast

as Theodor Körner *

Andreas Hofer Andreas Hofer (22 November 1767 – 20 February 1810) was a Tyrolean innkeeper and drover, who in 1809 became the leader of the Tyrolean Rebellion against the Napoleonic and Bavarian invasion during the War of the Fifth Coalition. He was subs ...

as General Wrangel * Rudolf Hilberg as Major von Lützow *

Elise Aulinger Elise Aulinger (11 December 1881 – 12 February 1965) was a German stage, radio and film actress. Selected filmography * ''The Favourite of the Queen'' (1922) * ''Martin Luther'' (1923) * ''What the Stones Tell'' (1925) * '' The Seventh Son'' ( ...

as Hoferin *

Karl Beckersachs Karl Beckersachs (1886–1951) was a German stage and film actor.Goble p.481 He is sometimes credited as Carl Beckersachs. Selected filmography * ''His Majesty the Hypochondriac'' (1918) * ''Midnight'' (1918) * '' In the Castle by the Lake'' (19 ...

as Lieutenant * Christian Bummerstaedt as Friedrich Förster *

Theodor Loos Theodor August Konrad Loos (18 May 1883 – 27 June 1954) was a German actor. The son of a watchmaker and instruments manufacturer, he left secondary school prematurely and worked for three years at an export firm for music instruments in L ...

Karl Platen Karl Platen (6 March 1877 – 4 July 1952) was a German actor and cinematographer known for '' Girl in the Moon'' (1929) and '' M'' (1931). Biography Karl Platen was born as Carl Platen on March 6, 1877 in Halle an der Saale, Germany. He died ...

Grete Reinwald Grete Reinwald (25 May 1902 – 24 May 1983) was a German stage and film actress. As a child, due to her sweet, appealing features she modeled for many monochrome, hand-tinted and autochrome postcards. Her siblings Hanni Reinwald and Otto Reinw ...

References

Bibliography

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

External links

* 1925 films Films of the Weimar Republic Films directed by Rolf Randolf German silent feature films 1920s historical films German historical films Films set in the 1810s German war films 1925 war films Prussian films Napoleonic Wars films German black-and-white films 1920s German films {{Germany-silent-film-stub