The Hunchback and the Dancer

1920 film

8 July 1920 (1920-07-08)

Running time

50 minutesCountryWeimar RepublicLanguagesSilent
German intertitles

The Hunchback and the Dancer (German: Der Bucklige und die Tänzerin) is a 1920 silent German horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and photographed by Karl Freund.^[1] This is now considered to be a lost film.^[2] The film was written by Carl Mayer, who also wrote The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).^[3] Karl Freund later emigrated to Hollywood where he directed such classic horror films as The Mummy (1932) and Mad Love (1935).^[4] It premiered at the Marmorhaus in Berlin.

Plot

A repulsive hunchback named James Wilton changes his relationship with women when he discovers a diamond mine in Java. A young woman named Gina, on the rebound from an earlier relationship, begins dating him. Later when she decides to break up with him and go back to her former lover, the hunchback manages to taint her with a poisonous substance that will kill anyone who kisses her. After two of her paramours die before her eyes, she finally catches on that he had contaminated her, and she decides to get revenge by luring the hunchback into kissing her himself.

Cast

Sascha Gura as Gina
John Gottowt as James Wilton
Paul Biensfeldt as Smith
Henri Peters-Arnolds as Percy
Bella Polini as Tänzerin
Werner Krauss (unconfirmed)
Lyda Salmonova (unconfirmed)
Anna von Palen as Smith's mother

References

^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 223.ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ "Progressive Silent Film List: The Hunchback and the Dancer". Silent Era. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 224.ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 223.ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.