Backstairs (Hintertreppe). 1921. Directed by Leopold Jessner.

(2/22/00)

This is a German expressionist film which was interesting to watch. It was notable for the sets, designed by Paul Leni, and the stylized acting. But I found it hard to follow.

A young woman, played by Henny Porten, is a maid. She has a lover that she goes to meet in the evening. He stops appearing. She is very depressed and keeps hoping for a word from him. The postman acts strange each day, which suggests that he might have sone something to the lover, but this is not made clear. We have seen this postman watching the woman, so we know he has an interest in her.

One day he brings her a letter which appears to be from her lover. But he has written it himself. She comes to his room to offer him a drink and discover this. He then leaves a letter for her, ringing the bell and then leaving. She then comes to see him again in his room and they become lovers.

They are very happy for a time, but then another man appears. It would seem that he is the woman's original lover, but he doesn't seem like him to me. He goes to see the postman. The woman brings some neighbors to break open the door and the postman has killed him. The woman is then dismissed by her employers and goes to the top of an expressionist building and jumps with the whole neighborhood watching.

There is a lot of footage of Fritz Korner just looking intense. The drama is played out through gestures. It was interesting for periods, but I found it hard to really sustain my concentration through the whole film. I wonder what to make of the three strange-looking characters who are Henny Porten's employers, but whom we only see at the end. As I said, the settings are interesting. There is a rough, cave-like quality to some of the rooms and the staircase and a bizarre-looking hallway. Even so, it still was not as interesting as The Golem and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.