Horror-iffic: Silent Screamers
By Chris Gaskey

Out of all the genres in cinema (aside from pornography), horror is the most represented. As long as there has been celluloid to stamp the print on, horror has been an integral part of the industry. But an unfortunate side effect to the longevity of film is, over the length of the years, a lot of silent movies have been overlooked by modern audiences. As the title of the article indicates, the purpose of this piece is to familiarize you, the reader, with some of the best of the bunch when it comes to silent Horror flicks.

The Silent Years (1910-1927)
Frankenstein (1910): Perhaps the first of the recognizable landmarks of the Silent Era, Thomas Edison's Frankenstein (1910) is undoubtedly the first milestone in horror. Clocking in at a little over 15 minutes, this film, like many of its predecessors, took quite a bit of liberty with the Frankenstein story. Not much more can be said about this film, because no copies of it are in circulation. One surviving print is part of a private collection, but the owner will not release it (maybe upon his death?).

Der Golem (1915) is a spin on the legend of the golem (a clay statue that can be animated), in which a golem is brought to life by Rabbi Loew in 16th century Prague to save the Jews from the ongoing brutal persecution by the city's rulers. Found in the rubble of an old synagogue in the 20th century, it is brought to life by an antique dealer and used as a menial servant. It eventually falls in love with the dealer's wife, and it goes on a murderous rampage when its love for her goes unanswered.

Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari/The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) is the story of a man named Francis. Francis relates a story of his best friend Alan and his fiancé Jane. Alan takes him to a fair where they meet Dr. Caligari, who exhibits a somnambulist named Cesare that can predict the future. When Alan asks how long he has to live, Cesare says he has until dawn. The prophecy comes to pass, as Alan is murdered, and Cesare is a prime suspect. Cesare creeps into Jane's bedroom and abducts her, running from the townspeople and finally dying of exhaustion. Meanwhile, the police discover a dummy in Cesare's cabinet, while Caligari flees. Francis tracks Caligari to a mental asylum. He is the director! Or is he?

Nosferatu (1922): The first theatrical edition of Bram Stoker's novel, F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922), portrayed Dracula as a nosferatu that had many of the physical characteristics of the novel's Count. Name changes were necessary because this version was so close to the novels plot--Murnau did not have the rights to produce a movie using the Dracula name. So, Count Dracula became "Count Graf Orlock" (played by Max Schreck), Renfield became "Knock ein Häusermakler", and so on. Enough of the film was altered from the book so as not to completely infringe, but the Stoker estate sued the production company nonetheless. Schreck's Orlock is undoubtedly the most faithful representation of the Dracula character.

Germany no doubt ruled the Silent Horror scene, and Caligari and Nosferatu are still recognized as some of the best horror in existence: they are in the top 20 of the Top 50 Horror Movies of All-Time list at the Internet Movie Database. But that's not to say everyone else didn't have a say in the genre of Silent Horror: "The Man of a Thousand Faces" Lon Chaney hit 3 homers with The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), and London After Midnight (1927), and the best of the numerous Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde movies was released in 1920, starring John Barrymore as the good/bad doctor. Needless to say, this era foreshadowed the following few decades of horror quite nicely, when one entity, as with Germany, ruled the scene: Universal Studios. I'd almost go out on a limb and say that without these films, Universal wouldn't have immortalized the Horror movie. But that's just my two cents.

*AUTHOR'S NOTE* Since the original version of this article, I've happened upon a website that claims to be selling Frankenstein on video tape, along with Nosferatu. Take it for what you will, but visit here for more info.


CREDITS:
The IMDB
Doug Sederberg
Rick Gregory