Fritz Lang

424 Pages·1976·28.805 MB·English

by  Lotte H. Eisner

NUNC COCNOSCO EX PARTE
THOMAS J. BATA LIBRARY
TRENT UNIVERSITY

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2019 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/fritzlang0000eisn
Fritz Lang
In memory of my old friend
Fritz Lang
whom fate did not enable to
hold this book in his hand.
Fritz Lang 1974: photo by John Gray
Fritz Lang
Lotte H. Eisner
SECKER & WARBURG
LONDON
Acknowledgements
All my thanks go first to Fritz Lang for his thorough comprehension, his patience, his interest, his sympathy
and deep understanding of my work, as well as for the beautiful stills and the scripts he put at my disposal.
Then, many thanks go to the Cinematheque Francaise and to Henri Langlois who enabled me to see all the
Lang films over and over again; to the phototheque of the Cinematheque Francaise (there especially to Miss
Sybille de Luze and the photographer Mr Jack Salom) for finding and allowing me to use many rare Lang
stills. I thank also Mr Herman G. Weinberg for the use of his filmography, and for the use of stills the
following people and institutions: Mr Charles Hofmann, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Mr Phillip
Chamberlain, then of the Los Angeles County Museum; the Museum of Modern Art Film Department
(especially Mrs Adrienne Mancia); The British Film Institute; Mr Wolfgang Klaue of the Staatliches
Filmarchiv, East Berlin; Mr Eberhard Spiess of the Deutsches Institut fur Filmkunde, W eisbaden; Bienbrich;
the Deutsche Kinemathek, West Berlin; Mr John C. Koball, London, Mr Howard Vernon, Paris, Mr Eric
Rhode; and for the portraits of Lang, Mr Axel Madsen, London, and Mr John Gray, Moorpark, California.
I especially thank Mr David Robinson, London, for his invaluable editing of the English version, and Mr
David Overbey, Paris, for his important editorial assistance in forming the final version of the book with me
over endless pots of tea.
Fritz Lang by Lotte H Eisner
Translated by Gertrud Mander and
Edited by David Robinson
First published in England 1976 by
Martin Seeker & Warburg Limited
14 Carlisle Street, London WiV 6NN
Copyright © Lotte H Eisner
This translation
Copyright © Martin Seeker & Warburg Limited 1976
SBN: 436 14232 5
Filmset and printed in Great Britain by BAS Printers Limited, Wallop, Hampshire
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Fritz Lang: Autobiography
Part I: The German Films before Hitler and LUiom
1 Lang’s Early Scripts and Films 17
2 Die Spinnen (The Spiders) 1919 32
3 Der Mude Tod (Destiny) 1921 43
4 Dr Mabuse Der Spieler (Dr Mabuse the Gambler) 1922 57
5 Die Nibelungen 1923-24 69
6 Metropolis 1925-26 83*
7 Spione (The Spy) 1926 95
8 Frau im Mond (Woman in the Moon) 1928 106
9 M 1931 111 >
10 Das Testament des Dr Mabuse (The Fast Will of Dr Mabuse) 1932-33 129
11 Working Methods and Style: The first German Period 139
12 French Interlude: Liliom 1933 149
Part II: The American Period
13 Fury 1936 160
14 You Only Live Once 1937 177
15 You and Me 1938 191
16 The Return of Frank James 1940 ** 197
17 Western Union 1941 204
18 Man Hunt 1941 209
19 Hangmen Also Die 1943 221
20 The Ministry of Fear 1943 239
21 The Woman in the Window 1944 247
22 Scarlet Street 1945 257
23 Cloak and Dagger 1946 267
24 Secret Beyond the Door 1948 275
25 The House by the River 1949 285
26 American Guerrilla in the Philippines 1950 295
27 Rancho Notorious 1951 301
28 Clash by Night 1951 3T3
29 The Blue Gardenia 1953 321
30 The Big Heat 1953 329
31 Human Desire 1954 338
32 Moonfleet 1954 345
33 While the City Sleeps 1955 351
34 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt 1956 358
35 Working Methods and Style: The American Period 1934-1956 367
Part III: The Second German Period: 1959-1960
36 Der Tiger von Eschnapur; Das Indische Grabmal 1959—60 384
37 Die Tausend Augen des Dr Mabuse (The Thousand Eyes of
Dr Mabuse) i960 390
38 Lang’s Statements About Himself: Le Mepris 397
Bibliography 405
Filmography 407
Appendix to Filmography: The Unrealised Projects 414