Unheimliche Geschichten

This is an anthology series. It is introduced by three characters in ghoulish makeup. They cavort around a bookstore after hours and find a couple stories to then turn into short films. The two most famous are Poe's "The Black Cat" and Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Suicide Club." Of course, being silent, there is the obligatory overacting, but the three principle characters ham it up and tell some decent stories. The first drags on and could have used a bit more editing. But, as a whole, things work pretty well. Conrad Veidt is the scene stealer with those dark eyes and intense postures. I have been reliving silent films lately and this one is decent.

Any devotee of vintage horror films will want to see Conrad Veidt in an anthology of fantastic tales, but will be disappointed if he expects another "Waxworks" or "Destiny." This looks as if it had been tossed together rather casually, as an actors' lark, and the actors, especially Veidt, mug exuberantly. The five tales, sketchily told, are "The Black Cat," "The Suicide Club," stories of hauntings real and fake, and the old anecdote about the man whose wife disappears from an inn where everyone swears she was never there. These are read by three figures who have stepped out of paintings in an antiquarian bookshop and driven off the (exceedingly odd) owner. The three appear in all the stories, usually with the two men as rivals for the woman. The tone of the framing story and one of the tales from the books is comic, and that of the others deliberately exaggerated. The prevailing weirdness tends to neutralize the scary moments, and so does the Wagnerian music with which the version distributed by LS Video has been unwisely scored. This version doesn't look bad compared to some old films on video (one can clearly make out the actors' faces), but the condition of the print makes it impossible to tell how the film looked originally. It's no classic, but an entertaining view of a young Veidt running the gamut of extreme emoting.

One of the finest and most underrated film's from the Weimar Era, "Eerie Tales" (Unheimliche Geschichten) is a watchable and entertaining mix of horror, suspense and fantasy. When portraits in a bookstore come to life and enact stories from classic literature then one knows one is in for quite a unique treat. With its modernist touch despite the standard theatrical acting of the time, the creepy atmosphere that pervades throughout the film, the striking black and white and its unsettling plots the movie foreshadowed the fabled Expressionist genre that was shortly to come. I watched this primarily to view Anita Berber and it was interesting to see Weimar Germany's most notorious femme fatale in action. Though no conventional beauty she had a charm with a tough knowing look that reveals the complicated personality she was known for. Although long and seeming to go on forever the film moves at a consistently steady pace despite its age. A distinct artifact from a fascinating time this is one relic from history that's memorable and worth the watch.

EERIE TALES is perhaps the earliest example of the horror anthology film. It has a wraparound tale starring Conrad Veidt, Reinhold Schunzel, and Anita Berber as characters in bookshop portraits come to life. The stories are:

THE APPARITION- A man (Veidt) saves a woman (Berber) from an attack by her insane husband (Schunzel). When the two new acquaintances arrive at a hotel, things take a strange and unpredictable turn.

THE HAND- Two men (Veidt and Schunzel) roll dice to determine who will go out with the woman (Berber) they both desire. The outcome leads to tragedy for one, and a haunting for the other. A seance proves to be very interesting.

THE BLACK CAT- A man (Veidt) covets a drunkard's (Schunzel) beautiful wife (Berber). When loverboy makes his move, the besotted husband gets wise. Horror ensues. This is a particularly good version of Edgar Allan Poe's story about the pesky feline of the title.

THE SUICIDE CLUB- A man (Schunzel) becomes curious about a group of men meeting in a supposedly uninhabited house. They're led by a mysterious figure (Veidt). Upon being allowed to join the club of the title, he realizes that it's far darker than he could ever have imagined. This one has a nice twist at the end. Ms. Berber has a very small part.

THE SPECTRE- The bored, neglected wife (Berber) of a nobleman (Veidt) believes that her luck may be changing when a handsome Baron (Schunzel) happens to need lodging for the evening. When the husband is called away suddenly, the Baron sees his chance for romance. This one is the weakest of the stories. It's okay, but sort of a letdown after the other four.

The wraparound wraps up in comedic fashion. All in all, a solid, silent classic worth watching...

The latest entry on my kick of watching at least one film from every year and in reverse chronological order.

For half my life the oldest movie I'd ever seen was Calagari and I found a worthy successor.

Did I have to watch this in bursts? Yes. But I was happy to dip into what in a different era might have been an anthology series instead.

The wraparound holds it together and doesn't take up too much time. Each of the stories are efficiently told but linger in that agreeable way for those who just want to bask in the vintageness of shadowy, chiaroscuro black and white will the actors where the perfect amount of mascara.

It took me a while to notice that they re-use the same few actors a lot which really is the mark of good actin. I think bold acting is perfect for silent features. It's hard to really see them in the less than Standard definition anyway...

The stories all seem familiar now but perhaps that's for the best in case you want to skip this.

A feature very much of its time but what a time.