''Schatten – Eine nächtliche Halluzination'' ("Shadows - a Nocturnal Hallucination", known in English as ''Warning Shadows'') is a 1923

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

silent film A silent film is a film without 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, w ...

directed and co-written by

Arthur Robison Arthur Robison (June 25, 1883 – October 20, 1935) was a German film director and screenwriter of the silent era. He directed 20 films between 1916 and 1935. Selected filmography * '' A Night of Horror'' (1916) * '' What Belongs to Darkne ...

, and starring Fritz Kortner and Ruth Weyher. It is considered part of

German Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

Plot

During a dinner given by a wealthy count (Fritz Kortner), his beautiful wife (Ruth Weyher) and four of her suitors come together at the 19th-century German manor. A magician (Alexander Granach), referred to as "Shadowplayer" in the cast list, rescues the count's marriage by giving all the guests a vision of what might happen if the count cannot restrain his jealousy and the suitors continue to make advances towards his wife. The count challenges the man he perceives as his rival (Gustav von Wangenheim) to a duel. The film has a happy ending as violence is averted and the count and his wife save their marriage. However, it is left unclear whether events at the party actually occurred, or whether it was all an illusion conjured up by the magician.

Cast

Alexander Granach Alexander Granach (April 18, 1890 – March 14, 1945) was a German-Austrian actor in the 1920s and 1930s who emigrated to the United States in 1938. Life and career Granach was born Schaje Granoch in Werbowitz (Wierzbowce/Werbiwci) ( Austr ...

as Shadowplayer *

Fritz Kortner Fritz Kortner (born Fritz Nathan Kohn, 12 May 1892 – 22 July 1970) was an Austrian stage and film actor and theatre director. Life and career Kortner was born in Vienna as Fritz Nathan Kohn into a Jews, Jewish family. He studied at the Vien ...

as The count * Ruth Weyher as His wife *

Gustav von Wangenheim Gustav von Wangenheim (born Ingo Clemens Gustav Adolf Freiherr von Wangenheim; 18 February 1895 – 5 August 1975) was a German actor, screenwriter and director. Biography Early life Wangenheim was born Ingo Clemens Gustav Adolf Freiherr ...

as Her lover *

Eugen Rex Eugen Rex (8 July 1884 – 21 February 1943) was a German actor. Rex was a member of the Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party ...

as A servant *

Lilli Herder Lilli may refer to: Films * ''Lilli'' (1919 film), a German film * ''Lilli'' (2018 film), an Indian film Places * Lilli, Harju County, a village in Anija Parish, Harju County, Estonia * Lilli, Viljandi County, a village in Mulgi Parish, Viljandi C ...

as Dienstmaedchen *

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." ...

as Diener *

Karl Platen Karl Platen (6 March 1877 – 4 July 1952) was a German actor and cinematographer of the Silent film, silent era and later the sound era and known for ''Girl in the Moon (film), Girl in the Moon'' (1929) and ''M (1931 film), M'' (1931). Biogr ...

as 2. Diener *

Max Gülstorff Max Walter Gülstorff (23 March 1882 – 6 February 1947) was a German actor and stage director. Biography Gülstorff was born in Tilsit, East Prussia. He first appeared in 1900 at the Rudolstadt municipal Theater and moved to Cottbus in 1908 ...

as 2. Kavalier *

Ferdinand von Alten Ferdinand von Alten (born Baron von Lamezan auf Altenhofen; 13 April 1885 – 16 March 1933) was a Russian-German actor. Selected filmography * '' The Blue Lantern'' (1918) * '' Madame Récamier'' (1920) * '' Anna Boleyn'' (1920) * ''Catherine t ...

as 3. Kavalier *

Rudolf Klein-Rogge Friedrich Rudolf Klein (24 November 1885 – 29 May 1955), better known as Rudolf Klein-Rogge, was a German film actor, best known for playing sinister figures in films in the 1920s and 1930s as well as being a mainstay in director Fritz Lang's ...

Production

Troy Howarth writes "The film is fascinating primarily on a visual level. As an exercise in Expressionism, it fully deserves inclusion in the canon of great German horror films", comparing Robison's film to the best of F.W. Murnau and Fritz Lang. He says however that the film runs out of steam toward the end and the characters were too stereotypical to be very interesting.

Siegfried Kracauer Siegfried Kracauer (; ; February 8, 1889 – November 26, 1966) was a German writer, journalist, sociologist, cultural critic, and film theorist. He has sometimes been associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. He is notable for ...

ranked it among the masterpieces of German cinema, but lamented that it came and went all but unnoticed by the general public. Director Arthur Robison was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1883, but grew up in Germany where he became an established writer-director in the German silent film industry. His first film was the 1916 German horror film ''A Night of Horror'', and his last film was the 1935 sound remake of ''The Student of Prague''. Actors Von Wagenheim and Granach were reunited again here after both costarred in ''

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who ...

'' (1923).

Literary significance

Referred to in ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by the English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of Charles Ryder, esp ...

'' by

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

is Anthony Blanche's description of Sebastian's companion Kurt: "He is like the footman in "Warning Shadows" - a great clod of a German..." (presumably the character portrayed by

References

External links