Genuine (film)

Genuine
Directed byRobert Wiene
Screenplay byCarl Mayer[1]
Produced byErich Pommer[1]
Starring
CinematographyWilly Hameister[1]
Production
company
Decla-Bioscop AG[1]
Distributed byDecla-Bioscop-Verleih
Release date
  • 2 September 1920 (1920-09-02) (Berlin[1])
CountryGermany[1]

Genuine (original German title: Genuine, die Tragödie eines seltsamen Hauses; literally: Genuine, the tragedy of a strange house) is a 1920 German silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene. It was also released as Genuine: A Tale of a Vampire. Director Wiene created Genuine as a follow-up to his massively successful film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, using the same writer and cinematographer who had worked on the earlier film. Production designer Cesar Klein even returned to contribute his bizarre Caligari-like imagery to the film.[2]

The film's eponymous character, Genuine, is not actually a vampire, but rather a "vamp" (succubus) who uses her powers of seduction to torment and control the men who love her. There is a bit of surprising nudity in the slave market sequence. The plot utilizes the it was all just a dream-type ending, as the proceedings are revealed to be a dream suffered by a man who falls asleep while reading a scary book. The film did not do well at the box office, but Wiene returned to form with his 1924 opus The Hands of Orlac.[2] Genuine was edited down into a 43-minute condensed version, which is the cut that has been most commonly available.[2] The complete film is available on YouTube.[3]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Genuine" (in German). Filmportal.de. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 219.ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
  3. ^ "Genuine - Dir. Robert Wiene, 1920 - 1hr, 28min Version". YouTube. 31 July 2018.