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Film: The Student of Prague (Der Student von Prag)
Year: 1935
Director: Arthur Robison
Writers: Hans Kyser and Arthur Robison
Starring: Anton Walbrook, Dorothea Wieck and Theodor Loos
Review:
This was a film that I learned about years ago, but not fully sure how. My guess would be when I started looking at lists of older films. This is the third take on the source material, so learning it was a novel didn’t shock me as that was where many early horror films started out. What I didn’t realize until recently was the number of adaptations this early into cinema. I was intrigued to check this out, especially since this is a film from Germany.
Synopsis: Balduin (Anton Walbrook) loves innkeeper’s niece Lydia (Edna Greyff) but is infatuated with singer Julia (Dorothea Wieck). She is kept by Baron Waldis (Erich Fielder). Dr. Carpis (Theodor Loos), jealous of the baron, intervened in Balduin’s pursuit, exacting a high price that endangers his life and sanity.
We start this by hearing singing. This is taking place in a beer house. It is a birthday celebration for Lydia. In attendance is Bladuin along with his friends. They’re having a great time. It is while they’re here, Julia arrives with Baron Waldis. She catches the eye of Balduin. She is asked to sing and while she does, a student gets loud. He also tries to kiss her. To defend her honor, Balduin steps in. He ends up dueling with this man, showing us that he’s talented with a sword. Julia invites him and the others to her show that night
It then shows us a Dr. Carpis arriving in town. He sees that Julia is performing in the opera, so he requests a box. He was there when Julia was singing and heard the commotion. What we’ll learn is that he has history with her and she’s trying to get away from him. During the performance, he noticed her looking at Balduin. He also doesn’t like the baron who interrupts their talk in her dressing room.
Julia goes to the baron’s carriage, realizing that she lost her bracelet. The baron goes to look for it and Balduin sees his chance to talk to her. Waldis finds it funny, stating that if her bracelet is found, there’s a reward. Dr. Carpis joins Balduin as the carriage leaves. The bracelet is at his feet. The doctor gives Balduin an opportunity. If he is willing to give up the idle dreamer within himself, he will be lucky. He puts this to the test, defeating the baron in gambling and even winning the carriage. This puts a series of events in motion that will result in death and this young man’s descent into madness over his love of Julia.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I wanted to start was that I wasn’t fully sure what type of movie we’d be getting here. It had me questioning if this was going to be horror. What I’ll say is, it takes time to develop but it's never boring. There are interesting questions that I have as to whether anything is supernatural happening or is it all in our lead character’s head. This has made me curious now to see the other versions of this tale as well.
Where I’ll start is with this lead character of Balduin. What is intriuging is that this feels like it is from a different time. The equivalent would be as a college student, meeting a singer that is known on the radio or like a budding movie star, shooting your shot and realizing you might have a chance. We then see the price of desire when Balduin is giving a Faustian bargain. We never truly learn who Dr. Carpis is but he’s a stand-in for the devil in the story. Balduin cannot compete with Baron Waldis or the expensive tastes that she has. The only way is Dr. Carpis taking his sentimental dreamer side to make him lucky. We see that no matter what he does, he can’t lose. This starts his descent into madness.
That then leads me to my next point. I’ve already said that we’re watching Balduin descend into madness. When he first beats the baron and takes his carriage, there are logical explanations. Balduin has a new sense of confidence, which is one way to look at it. It wasn’t until something happened later that I realized, it is supernatural. That scene was tense and I appreciated it. It is through these things as he tries to keep up with getting Julia’s affection that we see him being corrupted and losing his innocence in the process.
Now something I found interesting here is that this film uses the doppelganger. That makes sense, because that word is German. Balduin can’t look into mirrors after making the deal. There are great things that hide them and I wanted to give credit. Now I know that seeing your double is a bad omen. Balduin starts to see his and that contributes to his madness. What adds tension here is that he freaks out, there are others around him and they’re confused since they don’t see anything. That is something that gets under my skin and it was used effectively here. This is another way also exploring the concept of losing innocence as well with this menacing figure following as you try to free yourself.
That should be good for the story so let’s shift over to the acting. At the heart of this is a character study of Balduin. I thought Walbrook was great here. He plays the role cool at first. It is the deeper that he goes after making the deal that he becomes maniac. I thought that was great. Wieck works as the object of his desires. She isn’t given much to work with, but if that is her singing, she is talented. Loos was good as this menacing figure who gives Balduin what he wants but also starts his descent into madness. Fiedler works as this rich man who is the catalyst for Balduin to make the deal. Greyff was fine in her role as the one who truly loves Balduin, but there is the chase for Julia. The rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
All that is left then is filmmaking. Despite how early we are into cinema, I thought this did good. The best part would be the cinematography and framing. Showing this doppelganger was great. There are times that we see it and he doesn’t. The more that this other version appears, the crazier that Balduin becomes. The in-camera effects are limited, but bringing two versions of Balduin to life is something I’m a fan of. The soundtrack also fit what was needed, especially the diegetic singing in the world of the movie.
In conclusion, this was one that I was intrigued to check out and I’m glad that I did. This isn’t an original story for major elements. At the heart of it, it is borrowing from Faust. What I like here though is that we get a modern take on that tale. The acting is good, especially Walbrook and Loos. The rest of the cast push Balduin to where he ends up. The cinematography and framing were good. This is well-made. I do like the deeper ideas and concepts that are explored. This is one that might not be seen as much since it is a foreign film from the 1930s. I’d recommend this if you’re a fan of this era of filmmaking.
My Rating: 7.5 out of 10