F. W. Murnau's The Haunted Castle (1921) / The Finances of the Grand Duke (1924)

[MifuneFan]

Kino will be releasing a double-feature with two of F.W. Murnau's earlier films, The Haunted Castle (Schloß Vogelöd) (1921), and The Finances of the Grand Duke (Die Finanzen des Großherzogs) (1924) on February 12th, 2019.

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The German The Haunted Castle (Schloss Vogelrod) has been described as director F.W. Murnau's "warm-up" for his subsequent Nosferatu. At this point in his career, Murnau was more interested in effects than in story or characterization, but those effects were among the best within the boundaries of Germany's "Caligari School." The cast included Paul Hartmann, Arnold Korff, Paul Bildt and Olga Tschenova. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director F.W. Murnau and scriptwriter Thea von Harbou both took a change of pace from their usual dramas with this satiric farce about Grand Duke Don Ramon XX (Harry Liedtke), whose idyllic country is threatened by revolution. The troublemakers are a trio of conspirators, working with a corrupt financier who intends to convert the landscape into a profitable sulfur mine. Don Ramon comes close to being hanged, but is rescued by Olga (Mady Christians), the Grand Duchess of Russia, who loves him and agrees to pay off all his debts. A compromising love letter from Olga falls into the conspirators' hands, but she and Don Ramon, with the help of the adventurer Philip Collins (Alfred Abel) are able to set their affairs right. Note who plays one of the conspirators: Max Schreck, who starred as the hideous vampire in Murnau's horror classic Nosferatu. ~ Nicole Gagne, Rovi