The Golem and the Dancing Girl (lost German comedy horror film; 1917)
A still from the film (left) and an advertisement poster (right).
Status: Lost
The Golem and the Dancing Girl is a German silent film from 1917 that parodies the previous 1915 horror film The Golem. Like the original film, it was written, co-directed by, and starred Paul Wegener.
Plot
According to a French website[1], the film told the story of Helga (Salmonova), a "paid dancer" (slang for prostitute) who is attending a stageplay adaptation of Wegener's The Golem. Wegener (playing himself as the creature) overhears her professing her love for him and revealing the fact that she keeps a life-sized statue of the character in her apartment. Filled with amorous thoughts, Wegener then bribes himself into Helga's apartment while still in costume, hides the statue in her closet and stands still in its place, awaiting her arrival. When Helga finally does come home, she pours her heart out to the apparent statue, only to have it, to her surprise, come to life. However, just as they are about to have sexual intercourse, another "customer" of Helga's arrived and is frightened by the supposed Golem.
Availability
The film as far as we know is completely lost and hasn't been seen for many years. All that has been found is the cast list, a poster, and a still photograph. However, Silent Era claims that a print of it may exist in an eastern European film archive.[2] There are also rumors of 8 minutes of the film being found in a private collection on IMDb trivia, but it has not been confirmed.
External Link
- IMDb page for the film. Retrieved 15 Mar '19
References
- ↑ French site which gives details on the film's plot. Retrieved 14 Apr '17
- ↑ Silent Era page on the film. Retrieved 17 May '17