The Doll Maker of Kiang-Ning

The Doll Maker of Kiang-Ning
Directed byRobert Wiene
Written byCarl Mayer
Produced byRobert Wiene
Starring
CinematographyWilly Hameister
Production
company
Distributed byDeitz & Co
Release date
  • 1923 (1923)
CountryGermany
Languages

The Doll Maker of Kiang-Ning (German: Der Puppenmacher von Kiang-Ning) is a 1923 German silent fantasy film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Werner Krauss, Lia Eibenschütz, and Ossip Runitsch. A doll maker in Kiangning (modern Nanjing), China crafts a puppet which he is convinced is lifelike. He takes it to exhibit at a public event, but is outraged to find an even more convincing and beautiful doll there. It is in fact a real woman pretending to be a doll, but he becomes so obsessed he attempts to steal her and the film ends with her rescue and his tragic death.[1]

The film had its premiere in Berlin in November 1923. It received a universally negative reception from critics who were particularly unimpressed by the attempt to portray Chinese culture using German actors.[2] The film continues a wider theme in the director Robert Wiene's work which contrasts Western and Eastern cultures.

  1. ^ Jung & Schatzberg, p. 104.
  2. ^ Jung & Schatzberg, pp. 104–105.