Post by Calenture on Jan 18, 2007 4:56:39 GMT -5
Mistletoe from Jack the Ripper to start the New Year!
Click on the picture to visit the slideshow (almost 30 photos) showing Lulu's private Christmas party with Jack.
This post was originally placed on the Happy New Year! thread. I've just noticed this pre-WWII Cinema section, so I'm adding a few details to it here.
I've only seen one other G W Pabst film that I can recall - Kammeradschaft (a play on words, as it was about two tunnels being driven towards each other through a mountain).
That film and Pandora's Box were both screened by the BBC back in the heady days before the frequently-fragmenting screens of digital TV and when the BBC's World Cinema was a treat to be viewed, including Dr Mabuse films and an old Fritz Lang classic that I remember, featuring a gigantic idol of a goddess and a nearby leper pit!
(After a quick Google, I think the Lang film must be Der Tiger von Eschnapur... although that Wikipedia page explains that one was made in 1959, based on the 1921 silent Das Indische Grabmal. Part of the problem here is that I saw it on a BW TV, and I can't recall if it was silent or in another language! Perhaps this is a cue for a DVD rental.)
Pandora's Box told of the downfall of society girl Lulu, who attracts many men but brings only misfortune into their lives. When the scene changes to England, her descent has led to her walking the streets, where - anachronistically - Jack the Ripper is abroad in Whitechapel.
Silent films were never intended to be watched in silence, and the end of Pandora's Box (shown here) uses a very effective score of christmas carols played by a brass band which works well, as Jack first appears near a Salvation Army band. Presumably the single scream as the Ripper picks up the knife and the screen goes dark was added with every performance?
Here is the cast and credits from an IMDb page (probably more than you need):
Directed by George Wilhelm Pabst.
Writing credits: Joseph Fleisler, Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Ladislaus Vajda, Frank Wedekind (plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora).
Cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification
Louise Brooks .... Lulu
Fritz Kortner .... Dr. Peter Schön
Francis Lederer .... Alwa Schön (as Franz Lederer)
Carl Goetz .... Schigolch
Krafft-Raschig .... Rodrigo Quast (as Carl Raschig)
Alice Roberts .... Countess Anna Geschwitz
Gustav Diessl .... Jack the Ripper (as Gustav Diesel)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sig Arno .... Instructor (uncredited)
Daisy D'Ora .... Charlotte M.A. von Zanik (uncredited)
Michael von Newlinsky .... Marquis Casti-Piani (uncredited)
Produced by
Seymour Nebenzal .... producer
Original Music by
Timothy Brock (new score)
Peer Raben (restored version)
Cinematography by
Günther Krampf
Art Direction by
Andrej Andrejew
Gottlieb Hesch
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marc Sorkin .... assistant director