Waxworks (film)
| Waxworks | |
|---|---|
Original German release poster
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| Directed by |
Paul Leni Leo Birinsky |
| Produced by | Alexander Kwartiroff Leo Birinsky |
| Written by | Henrik Galeen |
| Starring |
Emil Jannings Conrad Veidt Werner Krauss William Dieterle |
| Cinematography | Helmar Lerski |
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Production
company |
Neptune-Film A.G.
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| Distributed by | UFA |
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Release date
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Running time
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63 minutes (Original cut) 84 minutes (Restored cut) |
| Country | Weimar Republic |
| Language |
Silent film German intertitles |
Waxworks (German: Das Wachsfigurenkabinett) is a 1924 German silent fantasy-horror film directed by Paul Leni. The film is about a writer who accepts a job from a waxworks proprietor to write a series of stories about the exhibits of Caliph of Baghdad (Emil Jannings), Ivan the Terrible (Conrad Veidt) and Jack the Ripper (Werner Krauss) in order to boost business.
Although Waxworks is often credited as a horror film, it is an anthology film that goes through several genres including a fantasy adventure, a historical film, and a horror film through its various episodes. This film would be director Paul Leni's last film made in Germany before he went on to make The Cat and the Canary (1927) in the United States.
A young nameless poet (Dieterle) enters a wax museum where the proprietor works in the company of his daughter. The proprietor hires the poet to write a back-story for his wax models of Harun al-Rashid (Jannings), Ivan the Terrible (Veidt), and Jack the Ripper (Krauss) in order to draw an audience to the museum. With the daughter by his side, the poet notices that the arm of Harun al-Rashid is missing and writes a story incorporating the missing arm.
The poet sees himself in his story as a pie baker, Assad, where he lives with his wife directly by the walls of the palace where Harun Al-Rashid lives. Smoke from the Assads' bakery covers the front of the palace, where Al-Rashid loses a game of chess, leading him to want the head of the baker. He sends his Grand Vizier to find the man, Assad, but in doing so, he finds Assad's wife with whom he is enchanted. After being captivated by her beauty and also captivating her with his status among the royals, he returns to tell Al-Rashid that he does not have the baker's head but rather something better - his wife. Al-Rashid then resolves to go out that night, incognito, and visit the beauty. When he steals away from his castle, the ruler witnesses an argument between the jealous Assad and Maimune, who both seem dissatisfied with their poverty-laden life. Assad then says he will rob Al-Rashid's wishing ring to solve their problems.
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Wikipedia