La chronique de Grieshuus

This is a German silent film based on German folklore. The title cards are in German so be sure you see a copy that has English subtitles, unless you speak German!!

Lil Dagover does a great job in the film as the suffering heroine. In fact, all the actors are played perfectly. No hammy over-acting.

Hartman is the one of two sons of a wealthy man who owns Gray House. But when his son falls in love with a servant girl (Dagover), his father threatens to disown him if he marries her. His younger brother, Forster, sees this as an opportunity to gain all the wealth for himself. He is married to an elderly dowager and they both plot to take over Gray House. The father dies and the oldest marries Dagover anyway. So his brother forces him out. Dagover dies in childbirth. Her son is threatened to be killed in order to make sure the house only goes to the bad brother. But Dagover comes back as an angelic figure to guide help to come to her son.

The film has a great story, but the cinematography really is amazing and stands out. Very dark and lots of use of shadows and camera angles makes this film compelling and worth watching.

I recommend this film as a very classy classic!