October 19: The Mysterious Mirror [Der geheimnisvolle Spiegel] (1928)

 

Der geheimnisvolle Spiegel (or The Mysterious Mirror/Mystic Mirror) was a 1928 German silent fantasy set in a Bavarian schloss (castle). It was principally directed by Carl Hoffmann, who had been a prolific cinematographer since 1913 (Richard Tescher is credited as a co-director, it is his only known direction credit). Though the story is based on recognizable from fairy tales--such as magic mirrors found in tales from the Brothers Grimm--the script is credited solely to writer Robert Reinert, who had previously been a script writer for fantasy serials in German cinema. The story revolves around a mirror that is supposed to allow the gazer to see their future if they stare into on nights of a full moon (or, alternatively, when the moon is up).  Usually what they see drives them into insanity and some into self-destruction. The protagonist of the film--a man who wishes to know his future for romantic reasons--is played by Fritz Rasp.  Released the year after Fritz Lang's Metropolis, where Rasp was "The Thin Man;" there is little doubt that the film makers thought they could capitalize on casting Rasp and using his name for promotion.  The story is rather simple, Rasp's "mann" steals into the old edifice where the mirror "resides" on a bright moonlit night, gazes into it, hates what he sees, smashes the mirror and then kills himself. After his death, the mirror reassembles itself, like it has likely done on countless occasions before. The description would lead one to believe that the film was a short, but it was in fact a feature and ran for nearly an hour and ten minutes. It was padded out with a story of gothic romance, featuring actress Fay Wall (aka Felicitas "Fee" Malten) in the part of Anna, the love interest.