by Jaime Grijalba.
In Memoriam
I wish to start this week article by dedicating this and all the future pieces to Jesús (Jess) Franco, a true master of horror and one of the most clear examples of someone who loved and worked inside the genre filmmaking, as well as making it lyrical, pure and horrific at the same time. This is for you Uncle Jess, we will miss you.
File #4 – Richard Oswald
Another austrian filmaker, but this one is particularly prolific, and as the majority of the directors that were of that area and Germany, had to flee the Nazi Germany before they got caught, killed or obliged to make propagandistic films. In the particular case of Richard Oswald, there is something even more complicated: he was jewish, he had to get out or probably we would’ve had another number in the most gruesome and awful death toll of all humanity, but looking in the bright and dark side of the life of this particular director, we must say that as prolific as he was in Germany and other countries (after his exile), he surely dedicated some of his ouvre to the horror genre, yet none of the movies he made after leaving Germany ever had anything to do with the genre ever again, maybe he knew that the horrors of the real life, the horrors of the holocaust were enough for the audiences that were seeing his movies, maybe he wanted a change, maybe he was heartbroken after he made it out in the german audiences with his first horror movies (most of them now almost impossible to get), this particular director’s ouvre inside the world of horror (which convoque us every thursday) is almost entirely lost to us viewers right now, if it wasn’t for some scavengers in the world of Internet we wouldn’t have any of the movies that will be discussed today, so this entry is dedicated to the “internet zoldierz” who every day look for the rarest and most precious material for us to have in our hands, just because modern companies and stores who sell DVDs don’t see any future in old re-releases, restorations of silent films, and these are movies that need it desperately, and even if some companies have promised a long time ago some Richard Oswald films, they still come up empty handed, a dire future is ahead and the “internet zoldierz” are making it just a bit brighter than it should be. On the issue of Richard Oswald, you might see that he is a bit unconsidered in the world of filmmaking, but he did have some important and groundbreaking achievements in the horror genre, shall we take a look?
The Lost Silver
The horror films of Richard Oswald are in most part lost or really difficult to obtain, here is a comprehensive list of all of them in chronological order and their actual state. Allan Fish, if you care to chime in on the actual state of some of these films, I’d really appreciate it. So, here they are.
· Der Hund von Baskerville, 3. Teil – Das unheimliche Zimmer (1915) This film is, possibly, available in some print that’s being restored but not made available to the public, as the rest of the films in the ‘Der Hund von Baskerville’ german series. A DVD was announced a few years ago, and in the webpage it’s still listed as “Coming Soon”
· Der Hund von Baskerville, 4. Teil (1915) The 4th in the series, the same things as the third one could be said here
· Unheimliche Geschichten (1919) One of, if not the first horror antologies
· Nachtgestalten (1920) Lost
· Der Hund von Baskerville (1929) A print is said to be found in 2009 but it hasn’t been made available
· Cagliostro – Liebe und Leben eines großen Abenteurers (1929)
· Unheimliche Geschichten (1932) A remake (kinda) of the 1919 film but with different elements and… a talkie!
Best/Scariest Film: Unheimliche Geschichten (1932)
This ‘remake’ of the 1919 film of the same name and directorial work is a rare kind of movie… it’s not an actual remake, as it merely uses certain elements and inspirations from the original, as it formulates something completely new and original from the scraps of what the earlier film was. In a certain sense this film is an anthology of horror shorts in the same vein as the later examples of ‘Dead of Night’ (1945) or similar, but here the sorrounding narrative encapsules the shorts in a much more complete and almost absorving manner, someone with no clear knowledge of horror tropes or literature may just find that the movie seems to take drastic twists every now and then, but really it’s just an anthology film very well disguised. Taking inspiration from two short stories by Edgar Allan Poe and one from Robert Louis Stevenson, Richard Oswald creates a world in which these three tales could happen to the same characters and be linked one after the other in an almost seamless fashion, making a complex and sometimes strange world in which the strange and the horrific is mixed up with the comedic and the ridiculous. It’s easy to think that I point at this particular movie from Oswald’s filmography because it’s the only one that isn’t silent or being the only one who features Paul Wegener in the cast (both great elements of the film) but really all the films of Richard Oswald that were seen for this survey had a certain amount of quality that would guarantee them this place at the top of them all, but it was its inclination towards mixing and combining different elements and at the same time coming up with something that was completely original and new, it’s something that needs to be applauded. There are moments in the different stories where we are put in doubt whether the characters are actually being serious about their plans or actions, it’s sometimes ridiculous how our main villain (played brilliantly by Wegener, with a powerful and amazing voice) makes certain mistakes that an intelligent man like him would not be able to commit, like hitting the walls at the beginning of the film, revealing the presence of the cat inside the wall (a classic scene that has been repeated and read all through history) or when he thinks he finally killed the journalist that is pursuing him, but no, and so. If you could analize the still posted at the top of this review you can see why I chose this particular movie as the scariest at the same time as the best of the bunch, specially in its initial segment there are some elements (supposedly parodying the german expressionism) that work extremely well in terms of shadows and light, maintaining certain elements under shadows only to slowly reveal them, like the reveal of the dead wife, her stasis and dead white skin is just terrifying to see for the first time, as much as we’ve seen that scene played out, this must be one of the scariest reveals. Other elements appear here and there that pump up the horror, like the performances in the middle section of the movie, where a bunch of convicted crazy people take over the nuthouse in which they were reclused, all this while pretending to be normal people, something our protagonist doesn’t understand until it’s too late, there’s tension and horror when knifes and threats come into play, as well as all the shouting and screaming coming from the cells and the crazies. All in all, it’s a movie that may seem disjointed and that has a somewhat slow third act, but it’s worth watching just to see Wegener in one of his best performances. (****)
And the rest…
Unheimliche Geschichten (1919)
A more straightforward ‘anthology’ film with a weak linking narrative: in a book store at night, three paintings come to life and start reading eerie tales to amuse themselves. There are many short stories, some work, some don’t, of course the most classic and that have stood the test of time are the ones that take the cake at the end, but it’s impressive to see this kind of treatment done to horror this early and in such a similar manner to the ones of later years. There is an expressionism present in the sets and makeup of the characters and here is accurate and correct to call it that. Beyond that, there’s not much to say, Paul Leni here makes a great set of performances changing into different characters from story to story. (***1/2)
Cagliostro – Liebe und Leben eines großen Abenteurers (1929)
Telling the famous tale of the ‘immortal’ Cagliostro, an alchemist and seer, we are thrown in the middle of his life when he is trying to set his life under the rule of Louis XVI just when the riots and the French Revolution are just steps away from starting. Here we see his devilish plans in order to take vengeance on the king and queen who made fun of his alchemist act in front of the court. There are many things that surprised me about this movie, first of all it was the existence of certain impressive camera movements that showed the whole landscape in which the events were happening, putting things in fore as well as background, using textures and levels, and the other must be the one that is most famous: nudity. There are two instances of long exposure of female nudity and it’s brave that this movie has survived (at least in some way or another) to this day. It’s a visual treat more than anything, and I love that. (****)
Don’t you want to know too?
I want to see the rest, I truly want to know what Richard Oswald was capable of, specially with the tales of Sherlock Holmes, there are some tales and stories about the movies not being actually good, and to the fact that Richard Oswald wan’t particularly good either, but here we have three examples of a new kind of horror that was blooming, and it’s marvelous what he did here for the genre, the rest can’t be that bad. Let’s hope that some day we see the Hound of Baskerville running around in screens of any kind all over the planet so we can judge for ourselves if we really think that is good or not. It’s a time for innovation the one we’re analizing here, and I’m glad that we could find this particular director, for sure a master of horror.
Ranking the Horror
1. Unheimliche Geschichten (1932, Richard Oswald)
2. Cagliostro – Liebe und Leben eines großen Abenteurers (1929, Richard Oswald)
3. Unheimliche Geschichten (1919, Richard Oswald)
Next week there may be not a Masters of Horror because I’ll be in Argentina on ‘vacation’, seeing movies at the BAFICI. There will be something here at Wonders in the Dark about it. But after that, we may have a favorite director of many people here showing his scary horror face.
