 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920  N/R, 52 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama / Horror / Thriller
Director: Robert Wiene
Cast: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Lil Dagover, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Rudolf Lettinger, Hans Lanser-Rudolf, Ludwig Rex, Elsa Wagner, Henri Peters-Arnolds
This German Expressionist film tells the gruesome story of murder and terror set among black shadows painted across geometrically irregular streets and rooftops running zigzag among leaning chimneys. Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss) is a hypnotist who travels with a carnival and displays a sleepwalker named Cesare (Conrad Veidt) as his attraction. While performing in a small, German town, murders take place, and when Francis' (Friedrich Feher) best friend Alan (Hans Heinrich von Twardowski) is killed, Francis connects the murder to Caligari. He accuses Caligari of committing the murders, but the police ignore him. When Francis performs his own investigation, he finds clues indicating that Caligari has ordered Cesare to commit the murders, and after a brutal confrontation with Caligari, Francis ensures that Caligari will be locked away in an asylum.
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Hitler--Beast of Berlin 1939  N/R, 87 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: Beasts of Berlin
Hitler: Beast of Berlin
Director: Sam Newfield
Cast: Roland Drew, Steffi Duna, Greta Granstedt, Alan Ladd, Lucien Prival, Vernon Dent, John Ellis, George Rosener, Bodil Rosing, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Willy Kaufman, Hans Joby, Frederick Giermann, Crane Whitley
World War I veteran Hans Memling (Roland Drew) secretly opposes the Nazis and distributes foreign radio broadcasts through Germany. Memling is captured and, with his cohorts, is sent to a concentration camp. He escapes but is determined to help rebuild the anti-Nazi organization. This film was made before the U.S. entered World War II and was banned at first but rereleased later as "Beasts of Berlin."
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The Scarlet Empress 1934 N/R, 110 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Josef von Sternberg
Cast: Marlene Dietrich, John Lodge, Sam Jaffe, Louise Dresser, C. Aubrey Smith, Gavin Gordon, Olive Tell, Jameson Thomas, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Ruthelma Stevens, Davison Clark, Erville Alderson, Maria Riva, Akim Tamiroff
To improve the royal bloodline, the Empress Elizabeth (Louise Dresser) of Russia imports German Princess Sophia (Marlene Dietrich) as the bride for her dull-witted son, the Grand Duke Peter (Sam Jaffe). When the Empress dies, Sophia leads her troops to the palace and ascends to the throne as Catherine the Great. While this story is not historically accurate, it represents one of the best biographical efforts of the 1930s.
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| 1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
2. Hitler--Beast of Berlin (1939)
aka: Beasts of Berlin
aka: Hitler: Beast of Berlin
3. The Scarlet Empress (1934)
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