The Indian Tomb

Though this film runs just over three and a half hours long, the time flew by for me as though it were nothing. Written by the legendary Fritz Lang and his then-wife Thea von Harbou, it begins with an intertitle explaining that when a sleeping yogi in a tomb is awakened from his trance, he is commanded to absolutely obey the one who found him and reanimated him. In this case, Prince Ayan III (Conrad Veidt), the Rajah of Eschnapur, finds Ramigani (Bernhard Goetzke) and orders him to go to Europe to find an architect to construct for him a Taj Mahal-like tomb for his faithless wife Princess Savitri. Ramigani goes to the house of Herbert Rowland, who at first won't hear of returning with him to India, particularly without telling his fiancée Irene Amundsen (Mia May, wife of director Joe May), but before long he comes around and departs with him. Irene's father has called her over to his house to tell her that he feels someone is trying to lure Herbert away from her; she initially thinks that's nonsense, but has her suspicions pinged, so much so that she returns to his house to check things out. Though Ramigani used his powers to take away the letter which Herbert left for her against his orders, Irene finds out anyway that Herbert left with an Indian, and makes up her mind to follow after him. And there the adventure begins.

The story packs in a lot of suspense and drama, with the viewer never knowing what's going to happen next. There are lepers, tigers, crocodiles, chases, mind control, snakes, shootouts, intrigue, the whole nine yards. And though the actors don't really look anything like actual Indians, one still gets the distinct feeling of India, with its culture, religion, history, and architecture, from the picture. The sets and costumes are all lavish and really give the film a sense of time and place. It's also kind of refreshing to see that Herbert and Irene are an older couple, not the typical movie couple in their late teens or early twenties, and while not homely, aren't candidates for the 50 most beautiful people of the year either. (Though some people, both past and present, have lambasted Frau May as being too pudgy or chubby, I didn't notice a weight problem, but then again, I don't think a normal woman is a size six. She looks healthy and natural, not like a stick figure.) While the story starts out with the basic premise of Herbert being taken to India to construct a tomb for the Maharajah, and Irene chasing after him, it soon gets a whole lot more complex. We find out that the woman for whom the tomb is to be built is very much alive, and the Maharajah wants to imprison her in it as punishment for how she cuckolded him with the handsome British officer MacAllan (Paul Richter). MacAllan himself is still in India, and Prince Ayan is determined to get revenge on him as well as his wife. Gradually, Irene and Herbert are drawn more and more into the intrigue and suspense all around them, to where it starts to feel like the point of no return.

1921 was a great year for films, at about the height of the transitional point between the acting and filmmaking styles popular in the Teens and the more natural and complex ones that evolved in the Twenties, and this film is no exception. It's a great epic adventure, and still packs a mighty punch over 85 years later. The suspense and drama are also greatly helped along by a superb musical score and a very nice print. Given how chopped-down it was in its original American release, it's a wonder it survived at all, and in such good condition.

The plot of The Indian Tomb concerns an architect who is summoned to India to build a tomb for a prince's dead love. Since he has just been admiring the Taj Mahal and daydreaming of such an opportunity, he is putty. From the beginning things are creepy. The prince contacts him through a fakir who can transport himself across distances with the power of his mind. The fakir also uses this power to keep the architect from contacting his fiancee to tell her about the trip to India. He is always staring intensely and doing mental magic somewhere else. So we have this very creepy fakir. What is even worse is that we can tell that the fakir is very uncomfortable working for the prince (he is obligated to by tradition and magic). He even directly asks the prince to be released from his obligations.

The prince is great. He has a pit full of pet tigers and we get to see lots of close-ups of them eating meat and roaring. After he shakes hands with the architect he hesitates as if he is going to wipe his hand on his robe. Oh and the best part: That's the prince on the cover. But is that Lil Dagover being menaced by him? No chance that she could be the prince's love. Actually yes, she is the female lead and she doesn't love the prince. The prince explains to the architect that the tomb is for his love, which has died - not his love, who will die. From his character it isn't certain what he might do.

Meanwhile the architect's fiancee is tracking him down. Her woman's intuition has told her trouble is brewing. She ends up causeing as much trouble as she resolves. We don't care - she an the prince are the only ones making things happen.

This particular release of The Indian Tomb is good quality. It has color tinting and the image quality is good. There are some scratches etc, but over all it is good. There is music written for the film that ties into what is going on in the scenes. There aren't any extras on the DVD other than scene selection, but I was watching it for the movie and I liked what I got.

The sets here are great. The exotic Indian setting means we get to see lots of 20's renditions of temples and idols. This film also features elephants and tigers and alligators (supposed to be crocodiles). They put some money into this and it went where it is supposed to go - to the cool looking stuff.

This is a nice little gem and this release does it justice. It is worth taking a chance on if it sounds like something you might like. Buying this is also a vote for more obscure silent films to get released on DVD, so if you are into the genre that might be a consideration.

Libraries with closed video stacks probably shouldn't buy this. This film is not well known, and so it is unlikely that someone will specifically be looking for it. Thea Harbou, who wrote the script, and Conrad Veidt are likely the only routes by which someone would get to this in a card catalog. Libraries with open stacks should consider this DVD. There are some interesting things they are doing with film techniques, particularly how the fakir's telekinesis is shown, which are worth checking out. This is a very nice but not famous movie that someone who stumbles across could love (happened to me).

This amazing 4-hour German epic rivals any major Cecil B DeMille or other giant Hollywood production with its marvellous exotic sets, action and drama. In fact, for me this film has extra special appeal due to the supernatural element surrounding the mystical yogi and his powers, whose role actually underpins the entire story. The next major attraction for me are the often quite authentic-looking mogul palaces and Indian temples in this film. Having visited Rajasthan, India and viewed maharajahs' palaces, I was impressed by the work and attention to detail that went into creating the sets for this film. Therefore, visually I found this film most stunning due to its gorgeous Indian-style sets, especially the interiors, and musically, Eric Beheim has compiled the perfect orchestral accompaniment. Apart from these things, the story itself is unusual, unpredictable and of high quality - which one can expect from Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou; the latter's storywriting skills being behind famous classics such as "Metropolis" and "Spies". In this story, based on Thea von Harbou's novel, an Indian prince - brilliantly played by Conrad Veidt - is obsessed with revenge for his wife's unfaithfulness, and commissions an architect to build a tomb to match the Taj Mahal for the still-living princess kept prisoner in the palace. He lures the architect to India through his supernatural yogi servant, who is probably the most striking and enigmatic character in this story. Although it is a long film in two parts which progresses at a steady pace, I enjoyed every minute of it, and I'm sure anyone who appreciates a full and interesting story, particularly one set in exotic locations, will not be bored or disappointed either.

Most movie lovers know that to describe a movie as stately is critic jargon for slow and boring. However, it's really the only word I can think of to describe the beginning of this film. The Maharajah of Bengal unearths a slumbering holy man and sends him on a mission: bring back the English architect Herbert Rowland to build a fabulous to tomb to Ayan's dead love. Thus begins part one of The Indian Tomb.

One of the most expensive movies of the 20s, the film was panned by critics of the time and was a box office disappointment. It was unfortunate enough to be both ahead of its time and stuck in the past. The melodramatic plot involving chases, escapes, revenge and all that good stuff seemed positively old fashioned. The sets and special effects were excellent but they simply were not enough to pull in an audience. (What? Good special effects in a silent movie? You'd better believe it. Nothing like today, of course, but no "oh, that's so phoney" moments) Another problem was that American viewers saw the cutdown version. This was meant to be a two-part story but the studios released an extremely abbreviated (and apparently incoherent) version. It's frankly amazing that the entire movie survived intact. But fortunately it did and it is presented in complete form, possibly this is the first time Americans have had a chance to see the whole thing.

What makes this movie distinctly different from most movies of the era is the unusually intelligent heroine (she makes a few mistakes but then so do the guys). Mia May, wife of the director Joe May, plays Irene, the fiancee of the Herbert. American critics of the time made some rather unkind remarks about her age and weight but really, is it so wrong to have a heroine in her late 30s who is not a stick-figure? She is never presented as being 18 and neither is Herbert. I thought the presentation of a more mature couple in this movie to be sweet as well as more realistic.

Of course, not enough can be said about Conrad Veidt's hypnotic portrayal of Ayan. Those who only know Veidt from his roles in Casablanca and the 1940 Thief of Bagdad are in for a treat: a chance to see the talented actor chew scenery as never before as the somewhat deranged Ayan. Bernhard Goetzke, who plays the holy man awoken by Ayan, is both elegant and intelligent. Lya De Putti as the Princess's servant is another independant female character.

I was not as impressed with either Paul Richter or Erna Morena who play MacAllen and Savitri, respectively. Though in all fairness, neither were given as much to do as the other actors.

The film may start a bit slowly but it is always intriguing and after the first half hour it is downright addictive. Unfortunately, I could not watch it all in one sitting (at over three hours, not many people could) It has been nicely restored with a great variety of color tinted scenes. Anyone who does not know how much tints can make a difference in a silent film should check this movie out for that reason alone. The soundtrack is synth but the music is period-accurate.

This movie has gotten better with age and still packs quite a punch to an open-minded audience. As is usual with silents, the viewer needs a bit of time to get "acclimated" but don't let that stand in the way of your enjoying a glorious epic that deserves to finally get some recognition after 80 years.

I'm not sure I would have had the patience to watch this three and a half hour two-part epic if the print quality and overall way this DVD edition was put together - thank you, David Shephard! - was not top-notch. The film's pristine image quality and evocative musical accompaniment helped generate an hypnotic, dream-like quality to the story. Conrad Veidt's charismatic persona initially attracted to me to this film and, performance-wise, his is the best role in the film. Mia May is a rather aging and plump leading lady; it's easy to believe that she got this role because the director, Joe May, was her husband. The story was written by another married couple, Fritz Lang and his wife, and it's interesting to speculate what the legendary Lang might have done differently had he directed instead of the merely competant May. I'd like to learn where some of the outdoor scenes were filmed because the views are truly spectacular. The indoor sets are also awesome and one can easily forget that this film was made during the German post-war improverishment of the Weimar Republic. Somebody had a lot of money to produce this epic! A different type of film and highly recommended.