Alraune (1928 film)
Encyclopedia
Alraune is a 1928
silent
science fiction
horror
film
directed by Henrik Galeen and starring Brigitte Helm
in which a prostitute is artificially inseminated with the semen of a hanged man. The story is based upon the legend of Alraune
and the powers of the mandrake root to impregnate women. In this version the symbiosis caused by the sexual union between the human and the root causes the girl to kill all men who fall in love with her.
The film was produced by Ama-Film GmbH and distributed by Ama-Film GmbH in Germany and Ufa Film Company in the United States with English intertitles. The art direction was by Max Heilbronner and Walter Reimann with still photos by Walter Lichtenstein
decides to conduct an experiment of impregnating a woman of low social status with a mandrake, which is a plant believed by legend to sprout from the semen of hanged prisoners. He asks his young nephew, Franz, to obtain a woman from the "scum of the society". Franz reluctantly retrieves a prostitute, and the experiement is performed on her.
Alraune grows up to become a beautiful woman with a corrupted soul. The Professor, who decided to adopt Alraune as his own daughter, sends her to a convent to study. Although she was sheltered from the influences of the outside world, Alraune grew up quite promiscuous and troublesome. She sneaks boyfriends into the convent and plays pranks on the nuns. Using her charm, she convinces her boyfriend to steal from his parents and run away with her. He steals the money from his father and boards a train with Alraune.
The professor then meets with his nephew Franz and shows him a journal, with details of Alraune's development over the years. Franz is appalled and warns his uncle about the potential consequences of violating the laws of nature. After Franz leaves, the Professor's servant gives him the letter from the convent informing him that his "daughter" is nowhere to be found.
Inside the train, Alraune exchanges meaningful glances with a stranger, much to the dismay of her boyfriend. She attracts the attention of the circus magician, who charms her by performing magic tricks. He puts a mouse on Alraune's leg to incite surprise, but she shows no fear. The sight of the magician touching Alraune's leg prompts her jealous boyfriend to attack the magician, leading to a scuffle.
After months of searching for Alraune, the Professor tracks her to a circus, where she is performing as the magician's assistant. Alraune is seen flirting with the lion
tamer, causing the magician to become jealous. We also see her boyfriend helplessly looking after her, but cannot do anything to win her back. The Professor sees her performing and decides to confront Alraune in her dressing room. Alraune is obviously afraid of her "father" and after a few reprimands, decides to leave the circus behind and go back with her father. We then see her boyfriend clutching Alraune's circus costume and crying his heart out.
Alraune was for a time happy with her new life living with her "father" who showers her with gifts in a place where nobody knows about her previous indiscretions. She is introduced to the inner circles of the society through her father's influence and money and the professor continues to chronicle Alraune's life. Her "father" secretly acknowledges that he has fallen for her and wonders if her promiscuous nature was due to her mother's promiscuosity. When a Viscount
, who is enamored by Alraune, asks the Professor for her hand in marriage, he turns him down. Alraune is heartbroken to hear this and tells the Viscount that she'll run away with him instead.
On the night when she was to meet the Viscount to elope, Alraune finds the Professor's journal and becomes angry at her "father" for having lied to her. Wanting a chance to exact her revenge, she tells Viscount that she has decided to stay with her father. As time goes on, she incites her father's jealousy by publicly flirting with men at parties. She continues to make the Professor jealous until he decides that they should leave for a new town. Alraune continues to attract men and seduce the Professor until he is at the point of relenting. Finally, Alraune tells him that she knows about her life's secret. He is delighted to know this, as now he can finally pursue his love and obsession for Alraune. She later meets with Franz, whom she was able to charm as well. The Professor realizes that he loves Alraune too much to let her go, so he writes in his journal that she either stays with him or he will kill her.
The next night, the Professor and Alraune go to a gambling club. The Professor finds out that Alraune's affluent lifestyle has depleted his financial resources and he asks Alraune to join him in a gambling table, believing the mandrake legend that whoever possesses it will have good luck. After a long winning streak, Alraune leaves the professor in the middle of a round and goes home to pack her things and escape. The Professor loses his winnings and returns home to find Alraune packing. He asks her to stay, sell her remaining jewels for money and move to a new place where they can find happiness. She tells him that she will, but not with him. The Professor grabs a knife and chases Alraune around the house, but Franz arrives in time stop him. Franz takes Alraune away, leaving the Professor condemned to a life of loneliness and insanity.
in his Science Fiction Source Book as "a frightening, erotic and highly emotional film with fine cinematography".
1928 in film
-Events:Although some movies released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent.* July 28 - Lights of New York is released by Warner Brothers. It is the first "100% Talkie" feature film, in that dialog is spoken throughout the film...
silent
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Henrik Galeen and starring Brigitte Helm
Brigitte Helm
Brigitte Helm was a German actress, best remembered for her dual role as Maria and her double, the Maschinenmensch, in Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis.-Career:...
in which a prostitute is artificially inseminated with the semen of a hanged man. The story is based upon the legend of Alraune
Alraune
Alraune is a novel by German novelist Hanns Heinz Ewers published in 1911. It is also the name of the female lead character.-Legend:...
and the powers of the mandrake root to impregnate women. In this version the symbiosis caused by the sexual union between the human and the root causes the girl to kill all men who fall in love with her.
The film was produced by Ama-Film GmbH and distributed by Ama-Film GmbH in Germany and Ufa Film Company in the United States with English intertitles. The art direction was by Max Heilbronner and Walter Reimann with still photos by Walter Lichtenstein
Cast
- Brigitte HelmBrigitte HelmBrigitte Helm was a German actress, best remembered for her dual role as Maria and her double, the Maschinenmensch, in Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis.-Career:...
as Alraune ten Brinken - Paul WegenerPaul WegenerPaul Wegener was a German actor, writer and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema.-Stage and early film career:...
as Prof. Jakob ten Brinken - Iván PetrovichIván PetrovichIván Petrovich was a silent-and-sound motion picture Serbian actor....
as Franz Braun - Wolfgang ZilzerWolfgang ZilzerWofgang Zilzer was a German-American stage and film actor.-Career:Zilzer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to German-Jewish emigrant Max Zilzer, who was engaged at the local theater. Zilzer's mother died soon after his birth and his father returned to Germany in 1905...
as Wölfchen - Louis RalphLouis Ralph-Selected filmography:* The Queen Was in the Parlour * Ghost Train * Alraune * Artisten * Kongo-Express * The Golden City * I pagliacci -External links:...
as Der Zauberkünstler - Hans Trautner as Der Dompteur
- John LoderJohn Loder (actor)John Loder was a British-American actor. He was born William John Muir Lowe in London.-Early life:Loder's father was General W. H. M. Lowe, the British officer to whom Patrick Pearse, the leader of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, Ireland, surrendered...
as Der Vicomte - Mia Pankau as Die Dirne
- Valeska GertValeska GertValeska Gert was a German Jewish dancer and cabaret artist. She was also active as an actress and artists' model.-Life and career:...
as Ein Mädchen von der Gasse - Georg JohnGeorg JohnGeorg John was a German stage and film actor.-Early life:Georg John was born in Schmiegel, Province of Posen, Imperial Germany.- Career :John began his career around 1900 in smaller stages and traveling theatres...
as Der Mörder - Alexander Sascha as Ein Herr im Coupé
- Heinrich SchrothHeinrich SchrothHeinrich Schroth was a German stage and film actor.-Career:Born Heinrich August Franz Schroth in Pirmasens, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, Schroth made his acting debut at the Sigmaringen Royal Theatre in 1890. In 1894 he went to the Municipal Theatre in Augsburg, in 1896 to Mainz and in 1897 to...
as Ein Herr in der Bar
Plot
The story begins when a rich Professor specializing in geneticsGenetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
decides to conduct an experiment of impregnating a woman of low social status with a mandrake, which is a plant believed by legend to sprout from the semen of hanged prisoners. He asks his young nephew, Franz, to obtain a woman from the "scum of the society". Franz reluctantly retrieves a prostitute, and the experiement is performed on her.
Alraune grows up to become a beautiful woman with a corrupted soul. The Professor, who decided to adopt Alraune as his own daughter, sends her to a convent to study. Although she was sheltered from the influences of the outside world, Alraune grew up quite promiscuous and troublesome. She sneaks boyfriends into the convent and plays pranks on the nuns. Using her charm, she convinces her boyfriend to steal from his parents and run away with her. He steals the money from his father and boards a train with Alraune.
The professor then meets with his nephew Franz and shows him a journal, with details of Alraune's development over the years. Franz is appalled and warns his uncle about the potential consequences of violating the laws of nature. After Franz leaves, the Professor's servant gives him the letter from the convent informing him that his "daughter" is nowhere to be found.
Inside the train, Alraune exchanges meaningful glances with a stranger, much to the dismay of her boyfriend. She attracts the attention of the circus magician, who charms her by performing magic tricks. He puts a mouse on Alraune's leg to incite surprise, but she shows no fear. The sight of the magician touching Alraune's leg prompts her jealous boyfriend to attack the magician, leading to a scuffle.
After months of searching for Alraune, the Professor tracks her to a circus, where she is performing as the magician's assistant. Alraune is seen flirting with the lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
tamer, causing the magician to become jealous. We also see her boyfriend helplessly looking after her, but cannot do anything to win her back. The Professor sees her performing and decides to confront Alraune in her dressing room. Alraune is obviously afraid of her "father" and after a few reprimands, decides to leave the circus behind and go back with her father. We then see her boyfriend clutching Alraune's circus costume and crying his heart out.
Alraune was for a time happy with her new life living with her "father" who showers her with gifts in a place where nobody knows about her previous indiscretions. She is introduced to the inner circles of the society through her father's influence and money and the professor continues to chronicle Alraune's life. Her "father" secretly acknowledges that he has fallen for her and wonders if her promiscuous nature was due to her mother's promiscuosity. When a Viscount
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
, who is enamored by Alraune, asks the Professor for her hand in marriage, he turns him down. Alraune is heartbroken to hear this and tells the Viscount that she'll run away with him instead.
On the night when she was to meet the Viscount to elope, Alraune finds the Professor's journal and becomes angry at her "father" for having lied to her. Wanting a chance to exact her revenge, she tells Viscount that she has decided to stay with her father. As time goes on, she incites her father's jealousy by publicly flirting with men at parties. She continues to make the Professor jealous until he decides that they should leave for a new town. Alraune continues to attract men and seduce the Professor until he is at the point of relenting. Finally, Alraune tells him that she knows about her life's secret. He is delighted to know this, as now he can finally pursue his love and obsession for Alraune. She later meets with Franz, whom she was able to charm as well. The Professor realizes that he loves Alraune too much to let her go, so he writes in his journal that she either stays with him or he will kill her.
The next night, the Professor and Alraune go to a gambling club. The Professor finds out that Alraune's affluent lifestyle has depleted his financial resources and he asks Alraune to join him in a gambling table, believing the mandrake legend that whoever possesses it will have good luck. After a long winning streak, Alraune leaves the professor in the middle of a round and goes home to pack her things and escape. The Professor loses his winnings and returns home to find Alraune packing. He asks her to stay, sell her remaining jewels for money and move to a new place where they can find happiness. She tells him that she will, but not with him. The Professor grabs a knife and chases Alraune around the house, but Franz arrives in time stop him. Franz takes Alraune away, leaving the Professor condemned to a life of loneliness and insanity.
Critical Reaction
The film has received a generally more positive reaction than the other versions based on the same myth. it has been described by leading science fiction author David WingroveDavid Wingrove
David Wingrove is a British science fiction writer. He is well-known as the author of the Chung Kuo novels . He is also the co-author of the three Myst novels....
in his Science Fiction Source Book as "a frightening, erotic and highly emotional film with fine cinematography".
See also
- Alraune (1918 film)Alraune (1918 film)Alraune is a 1918 science fiction horror film directed by Michael Curtiz and Edmund Fritz and starring Géza Erdélyi. Little is known about this film which is now believed to be lost...
- Alraune, die Henkerstochter, genannt die rote HanneAlraune, die Henkerstochter, genannt die rote HanneAlraune, die Henkerstochter, genannt die rote Hanne is a 1918 silent science fiction horror film directed by Eugen Illés and Joseph Klein and starring Max Auzinger in which a Doctor uses the sperm of a dead man to impregnate a prostitute...
- Alraune (1930 film)Alraune (1930 film)Alraune is a 1930 science fiction horror film directed by Richard Oswald. Like the previous version this movie again features Brigitte Helm in the role of Alraune...
- Alraune (1952 film)Alraune (1952 film)Alraune is a 1952 science fiction horror film directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt and starring Hildegard Knef in which a scientist creates a woman who is beautiful and yet soulless, lacking any sense of morality. It is based upon the German myth of Alraune in which a woman is impregnated by a...