The Haunted Castle (O. V. Schloß Vogelod)
Germany, 1921
Director: Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
Screenplay: Carl Mayer
Cast: Arnold Korff, Lulu Korff-Kyser, Lothar Mehnert, Paul Hartman
Genre: Mystery, drama
Plot
Count Vogelschrey has summoned several friends to his castle to go hunting the next day in the forest. Although it seems unlikely that the hunting trip will take place because of the bad weather. Suddenly Count Oetsch appears there. His arrival makes everyone uncomfortable; for, although it could never be proven, it is believed that he killed his own brother to take the title. In addition, Vogelschrey also expects the widow of the murdered brother to arrive at any moment.
Oetsch insists on staying. He talks to the others about certain divination techniques learned in India. They jokingly ask him if the hunt will take place, as bad weather might prevent it. Oetsch answers enigmatically that the occasional shot will be fired.
The brother’s widow arrives with her new husband, a baron. When they learn that Oetsch is also there, they are ready to leave. But the baroness decides to stay in the castle when she is informed that Father Faramund from Rome is also coming.
The next day, to everyone’s surprise, the weather is fine and they go hunting in the forest. Soon after, however, a storm comes up and it is precisely then that Oetsch sets off with his shotgun.
Meanwhile, Father Faramund, a Franciscan friar, arrives. He is related to Oetsch and his late brother. The baroness (the brother’s widow) has something important to tell him, and begins to tell him about the events that led to the death of her first husband. It turns out that the latter, after a journey, had become engrossed in mystical studies, becoming a kind of ascetic, and wanting to renounce the mundane. Thus, he had decided to divide the fortune of his aristocratic family, to which his brother was opposed. Shortly afterwards he was murdered in circumstances that have never been clarified…
One night, Father Faramund disappears without a trace. Once again Oetsch becomes a suspect. The next day many of the guests leave, as they no longer feel safe in the castle. The baroness behaves strangely. Oetsch, for his part, begins to insinuate that another of the guests present is a murderer…
Comments
Shortly before filming “Nosferatu”, his most remembered work, Murnau directed this mystery film set in an aristocratic castle and its surroundings. The plot revolves around the unraveling of a crime, in which some of those present seem to be implicated.
The film unfolds as a sort of detective story. The role of investigator falls on the Franciscan priest, who listens attentively to the baroness about the mysterious crime that took the life of her first husband and for which Count Oetsch is the main suspect. Flashbacks abound, as we are shown situations that have happened before and are recalled by the baroness.
In general, the film does not manage to hold the viewer’s interest for long. “Nosferatu” is much more interesting and enjoyable in all aspects.
There are some touches of humor, from the hand of a fearful guest who can’t wait to leave the castle; and also from a young and gluttonous kitchen assistant, who eats cakes on the sly. Both of them star in dreamlike sequences.
It must be recognized that in the final stretch of the film there is some intrigue, as well as an interesting and surprising plot twist.
The story, which has elements of the “whodunnit” typical of detective novels in the style of Agatha Christie, is based on a book of the same name by author Rudolf Stratz, initially published in installments in a Berlin newspaper. A new version, a sound remake, was shot in 1936.
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