1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:12,719 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome 3 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Tracy, 4 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: it's October. I know it's kind of like the middleish 5 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,239 Speaker 1: of October at this point. Yeah, so for anybody who's 6 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:25,280 Speaker 1: worried that we haven't had a ton of Halloween content, 7 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 1: it's just kind of clumping all at the end, Whereas 8 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: in previous years it's kind of been like every other 9 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: one throughout the month. Just because of some scheduling needs, 10 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:36,600 Speaker 1: It's ended up that our October stuff is all coming 11 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 1: out really in the back half of of October. Hopefully 12 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:42,559 Speaker 1: that will be enough to tide people over. I know 13 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: it's hard to wait those extra two weeks. As someone 14 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 1: who celebrates Halloween virtually every day of the year, I 15 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: understand the topic that we're covering today is something I 16 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:56,280 Speaker 1: have wanted to talk about for a really long time, 17 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: and that is F. W. Murnow. I make no secret 18 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: that I love No Sferratto as well as a lot 19 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: of his other work, but No Sharratto has a very 20 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: special place in my heart. See above re Halloween every day. 21 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:12,320 Speaker 1: But Murnau's life is so much more than that one film, 22 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: and that's something actually happened fairly early in his film career, 23 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: so there's a lot that happened afterwards. And he was 24 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 1: truly an innovator in cinema and a visual storyteller whose 25 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: work is even today hotly debated for its merits and faults, 26 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,040 Speaker 1: but its influence is felt uh in so many films 27 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 1: that you see today where the filmmakers were influenced by Murnau. 28 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:36,840 Speaker 1: So you are still getting the benefit of his efforts, 29 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 1: whether you know it or not. Murnau was born Friedrich 30 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: Wilhelm plump in Belafeld, Germany, on December nine. His brother 31 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: Robert later described him, who went by his middle name 32 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: of Villehelm, by saying, quote from the very beginning, my 33 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: brother overflowed with imagination. Their family was well off. Their father, 34 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,200 Speaker 1: Enrich Plumpa, had inherited a profitable textile business, which he 35 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: sold for a pretty tidy sum and then bought a 36 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: sprawling estate. The family's children would put on plays in 37 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,799 Speaker 1: the garden, and that's where Wilhelm really fell in love 38 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: with the idea of theater. Yeah, apparently one of his sisters. 39 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:22,520 Speaker 1: His mother was his father's second wife, and one of 40 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: his older sisters was initially like directing all of them 41 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 1: to do these plays, but he pretty quickly was like, no, 42 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: I want to make this stuff, but they're idyllic. Privileged 43 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: childhood was abruptly interrupted when Heinrich Plumpa sold the family 44 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: property and sunk all of his money into what turned 45 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,920 Speaker 1: out to be a bad investment. They weren't destitute at 46 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: that point, but they did have a significant downgrade in 47 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:48,800 Speaker 1: their lifestyle. But Wilhelm's love of putting on productions continued unabated, 48 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:52,639 Speaker 1: and his brothers, who wanted to encourage his creativity despite 49 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: their father thinking that that was a waste of time, 50 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 1: actually built a little theater for him to put on 51 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:02,799 Speaker 1: his shows, complete with lighting and moving scenery. Bill Him, 52 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: who was a voracious reader, was at the top of 53 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 1: his class in school. His father wanted him to go 54 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: on to become a professor, and to that end, he 55 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 1: attended university in Berlin, where he started working as an 56 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:18,080 Speaker 1: actor under the name of Murnal. This new name was 57 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: in the hopes of his father not discovering what he 58 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: was doing. But bill Helm was tall about six ft 59 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: four and very easy to recognize. Soon, a family friend 60 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: spotted him in a performance and mentioned it to his parents. 61 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: Heinrich then cut his son off financially, but Murnal's grandfather 62 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: on his mother's side started sending him a monthly allowance 63 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: so he could stay in Berlin. Yeah, he was still 64 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: going to school. He hadn't shirked that part of this responsibility. 65 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 1: But he also apparently was living a rather lavish life, 66 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: which had caused some problems when his father was called 67 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: with these like huge debts that that he had amassed 68 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: kind of uh, putting only the finest furnishings in art 69 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: in his little apartment. But yeah, he he thought he 70 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:02,640 Speaker 1: could just work as an actor on the side while 71 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: he also went to school. But after Berlin, Wilhelm went 72 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: on to school in Heidelberg, and there he studied literature, art, 73 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: history and philosophy. And it was also there, in nineteen 74 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: o eight that he connected with Max Reinhardt, Austrian born. 75 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: Reinhardt was a well known figure on the German theater scene, 76 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: and he was impressed by Wilhelm when he saw him 77 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: perform in a play that was put on by the university. 78 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: He was so impressed in fact that he offered him 79 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: a place in his theater school with a full scholarship 80 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 1: if Murnau agreed to attend for a full six years. 81 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: In nineteen eleven, Murnau assisted Reinhart in the production of 82 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:40,359 Speaker 1: a play called The Miracle, which was written by Karl Vomler. 83 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: He had been exploring directing and he realized that he 84 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: preferred that to acting. Also, this move to directing was 85 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: motivated by a certain practicality. He knew that being as 86 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: tall as he was would be a hindrance to being 87 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 1: cast in leading roles, but his height really made no 88 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: difference to working as a director. Yeah, he was so 89 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 1: distinctive looking that he was like, no one is going 90 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 1: to want to cast me from one show to another, 91 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: because I will just look like the same dude no 92 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: matter what I do. World War One, though, did put 93 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:12,679 Speaker 1: a damper on art for mur Now for a little while. 94 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: Who served in the German military. He was first called 95 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: up as a footguard, and then he was promoted and 96 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: then became a company commander, and eventually he transferred to 97 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,839 Speaker 1: the Air Force. And while flying with the German Air Force, 98 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: he crashed eight times, but he walked away every time 99 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: without any serious injuries, and after his last crash landing 100 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: in Switzerland, he was arrested and interned at Andermatt where 101 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: he used his time as a prisoner of war to 102 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:38,919 Speaker 1: work on a film script and produce theater with his 103 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: fellow internees. According to fellow officer Major Wolfgang Schrump, every evening, 104 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,799 Speaker 1: Murnau would recite a poem called The Pianist of Death 105 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: to the officers, and according to the same account, he 106 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: also carried a stick with him which was made out 107 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: of a propeller, which was full of bullet holes. He 108 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: was so influential that a lot of the men he 109 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:01,720 Speaker 1: served with also started care being similar sticks, as sort 110 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 1: of a strange wartime fashion trend that Murnau had created. 111 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: While Murnau made it through the war seemingly unscathed, his 112 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:13,600 Speaker 1: best friend Hans are in Bound Degla was killed at 113 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: the front, and that was a loss that Murnow grieved 114 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:19,280 Speaker 1: really deeply. The loss of Hans was perhaps so difficult 115 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: because he had been one of the few people that 116 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:25,479 Speaker 1: Murnau was actually close to. Even Berneu's family was often 117 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,200 Speaker 1: kept at arm's lengths, particularly during the time that he 118 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: had changed his name and worked on his secret acting career. 119 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: There was a story about one of his brothers going 120 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: to the same place as him, but like telling his 121 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 1: friends and other people in the family like, oh, I can't, 122 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:43,239 Speaker 1: I'm not allowed to look at at Villa like I can't, 123 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: I can't acknowledge that I related to him. But losing 124 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: his closest friend really seemed to catalyze a desire to 125 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,359 Speaker 1: connect more deeply to his siblings and his family, which 126 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: he did in his early thirties. After the war ended, 127 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: Murnau didn't go back to the theater and steady shifted 128 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: his interest to film. He edited a few short films 129 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:06,320 Speaker 1: for the German embassy. These were basically propaganda. In nineteen nineteen, 130 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: he founded his own film company with friends from his 131 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:13,240 Speaker 1: time at the Reinhardt School. Under his company Murnout Vite 132 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 1: Voon gevel Shaft, he made the transition into directing long 133 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: form film. He did this when he directed The Boy 134 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: in Blue that was inspired by the seventeen seventy painting 135 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough. A copy of the 136 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: painting appears in the film, but the face in the 137 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 1: original was replaced with the face of the main character. 138 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: In nineteen twenty his story overlaps with a previous podcast subject, 139 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: Bella Lugosi. Murnaut directed Lugosi in an adaptation of the 140 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 1: Doctor Jekyline Mr. Hyde story that was originally published in 141 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty six. Murnau's version, which was titled Janna's Face, 142 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,480 Speaker 1: was a critical success, although like a lot of his work, 143 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,280 Speaker 1: modern audiences have no access to it as it has 144 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:57,080 Speaker 1: been lost. Almost half of his films were lost over 145 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 1: the years. Murnau's work in nineteen twenty two is what 146 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,080 Speaker 1: has truly endured, though, and that's what's given the director 147 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:07,680 Speaker 1: his longevity as a person of interest among horror fans especially. 148 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: It was then that he directed the cult classic Nosferatu. 149 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: Even if you don't know the film, odds are that 150 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 1: you have seen images from it. Count Orlock, who's the 151 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 1: vampire at the center of the plot, it's just an 152 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: unmistakable figure. This is what I'm going to confess to Holly, 153 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: that I've never seen this film all the way through, 154 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: but I immediately can call what count Orlock looks like 155 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,320 Speaker 1: to mind, like and how he moves like. All of that, 156 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: I want to mind a big dramatic throwing of things 157 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: across the room, but I'll forgive you. Yeah, you're missing 158 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:43,360 Speaker 1: out though, and I know, I know, there's just so 159 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: much media to consume. Um count Orlock is tall and thin, 160 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: with large pointy ears, heavy eyebrows, and long, pointy front teeth, 161 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,720 Speaker 1: and he's one of cinema's oldest and most iconic villains 162 00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: and serves as sort of a shorthand for a vampire. 163 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:01,880 Speaker 1: Now and coming up, we'll talk about some of the 164 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: rumors around the making of Nose ferrat but first we're 165 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:07,359 Speaker 1: going to pause for a word from one of our sponsors. 166 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 1: There have been so many rumors and stories surrounding the 167 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: making of the film Nose Ferrato since it was released, 168 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 1: in part due to some of the promotional materials that 169 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: were released ahead of the movie. To drum up interest, 170 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,400 Speaker 1: The magazine BN Film put out an issue just before 171 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 1: the film came out in that featured a story told 172 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: by production designer Alban Grau, in which Grau claims that 173 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: during the war he met a Serbian man who claimed 174 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: that his father had died without receiving the holy sacraments 175 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:46,200 Speaker 1: and then wandered their village in vampire form. Grou who 176 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: was an occultist and also one of the people who 177 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: initiated this project, claimed to have seen documents detailing the 178 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:56,080 Speaker 1: exhimation of the body, which showed no signs of decomposition, 179 00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 1: and then Grou's Serbian friend told him that after the 180 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:01,079 Speaker 1: body of his father was a zoomed, a steak was 181 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: driven through its heart and that the vampire died. So 182 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: this theoretically was the inspiration for No Farrato. According to 183 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 1: grow it was all based on this true story that 184 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: he had heard while during the war, and he claims 185 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: that nose ferrato was the Serbian word for vampire, although 186 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: the true etymology of that word is a lot hazier 187 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:23,559 Speaker 1: than that. There's no exact known origin point. No Farrato 188 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: continues to have its own mythos as the first vampire film. 189 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 1: It's drawn a lot of interest in the century since 190 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,720 Speaker 1: that it was made, but it was almost lost, just 191 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:37,360 Speaker 1: like several of Murnal's other films. That's because the story 192 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: is a loose adaptation of brom Stoker's Dracula, and it 193 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 1: was made without the rights to that story, something that 194 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 1: is a non issue now because it's so old, but 195 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:50,200 Speaker 1: was an issue at that time. Murnal's production company was 196 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 1: unable to secure the rights to it, but they went 197 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 1: ahead with the production anyway, changing a number of the elements, 198 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:00,720 Speaker 1: and Florence Malcolm Stoker, who was Bram Stoker's widow, sued 199 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:03,720 Speaker 1: over it. Yeah, they changed names of characters in the 200 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: location and it's, uh, it's a little bit different, but 201 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:09,199 Speaker 1: there's enough there that it's pretty clearly if you had 202 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: read Dracula, you'd be like, this sure looks like a 203 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,120 Speaker 1: lot like Dracula. Yeah, it's sort of like when you 204 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 1: go to buy Halloween costumes and there named something like 205 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:23,079 Speaker 1: Magical School Student, and you know it's really Harry Potter, right. 206 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: My a recent one that I saw was Midweek, Um, 207 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:30,880 Speaker 1: Angry Girl and it's supposed to be Wednesday, which to 208 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:34,000 Speaker 1: me was very funny. By the time that the case 209 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: that uh, Florence Malcolm Stoker brought went to court, the 210 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:42,360 Speaker 1: film company was already bankrupt. So much money had been 211 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: spent on publicity for nos f A too and on 212 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,320 Speaker 1: staging a massive gala opening at the Berlin Zoo that 213 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: there was literally nothing left for the widow Stoker to 214 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 1: be awarded. Still, a German court did rule in her 215 00:11:54,679 --> 00:11:57,400 Speaker 1: favor and issued a verdict that all copies of the 216 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: film had to be destroyed. Of course, uh not to 217 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 1: thwart the law, but thankfully, in my opinion, that did 218 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,439 Speaker 1: not happen. Prince of the film made their way to London, 219 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:09,680 Speaker 1: where Florence Malcolm Stoker was able to block its screening 220 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,320 Speaker 1: in and then to New York where it was viewed 221 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,959 Speaker 1: by audiences in nineteen nine. And as with a lot 222 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,320 Speaker 1: of Murnau's work, there are multiple different versions of the film, 223 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:23,480 Speaker 1: and over the years, film fans and historians have worked 224 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 1: very hard, in some cases referring to the original shooting 225 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 1: script to untangle which of those versions is actually closest 226 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:33,960 Speaker 1: to Murnau's original. As an aside, the film Shadow of 227 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 1: the Vampire, which unlike to sparazi I have seen, stars 228 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:42,360 Speaker 1: Willem Dafoe as actor Max Shrek, who brought count Orlock 229 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:44,720 Speaker 1: to life. It's a really fun movie and it plays 230 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: on the long running rumor that Shrek actually did practice 231 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:52,200 Speaker 1: vampiresm during the filming of No Sparazzi, But to be 232 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:55,320 Speaker 1: clear that is fiction. Were now is portrayed by John 233 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,120 Speaker 1: Malkovich in a manner that suggests that the director was 234 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: just a driven autour only cared about capturing what he 235 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:05,599 Speaker 1: saw as his vision without being concerned about anything or 236 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:09,840 Speaker 1: anybody else. That is totally opposite of just about every 237 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 1: account of Monow as a director. Yeah, we're gonna read 238 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,600 Speaker 1: something later that was was said at his uh funeral 239 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:20,880 Speaker 1: that will kind of very clearly point out how how 240 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:23,920 Speaker 1: differently he really really was portrayed in that film from 241 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:26,679 Speaker 1: what he was like in real life. And while No 242 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:29,560 Speaker 1: Sperato is probably the film he's most famous for today, 243 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 1: at least in sort of general audience circles, I think 244 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:35,960 Speaker 1: if you get into cinephile circles, others come up pretty quickly. 245 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:38,840 Speaker 1: But murn Now went on, as we said at the beginning, 246 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:41,440 Speaker 1: to direct plenty of other films, and it was really 247 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:43,120 Speaker 1: those films that put him on the map as a 248 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:46,679 Speaker 1: director of note. With his contemporaries in Germany, in nineteen 249 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:51,080 Speaker 1: Der Letztemann was released, and it was a breakthrough moment 250 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:54,880 Speaker 1: in narrative cinema. While the title translates directly to the 251 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,480 Speaker 1: Last Man, and it's English language release that was titled 252 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: The Last Laugh, it tells the story of the doorman 253 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 1: at a fancy hotel who, as he ages, is forced 254 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:08,960 Speaker 1: into the lesser role of bathroom attendant. This transition is 255 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,440 Speaker 1: significant and difficult for the main character because his identity 256 00:14:12,559 --> 00:14:14,880 Speaker 1: is totally tied up in his work as a doorman, 257 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,720 Speaker 1: and this emotional fall mirrors the fall in his status 258 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,480 Speaker 1: as a staff member in the hotel. There is almost 259 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:25,200 Speaker 1: no dialogue in the Last Laugh. There's no audible dialogue 260 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:27,280 Speaker 1: at all. This wasn't still in the silent film era, 261 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 1: so The Jazz Singer would not debut for another three years. 262 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:33,280 Speaker 1: But there is also only a single title card in 263 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:37,600 Speaker 1: all of mr film, which runs seventy seven minutes. The 264 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 1: entire story is told through pantomime and the use of 265 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 1: shadow light and another artist creative skill. The Last Laugh 266 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:48,960 Speaker 1: gained Brenw a lot of attention, in part because of 267 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:53,160 Speaker 1: the work of cinematographer Carl Freund in service to Bronow's vision. 268 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:56,320 Speaker 1: Unlike most of the films of the time that were 269 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: shot on sound stages from an audience perspective, almost like 270 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: you viewing a play, the Last Man traveled through the 271 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 1: set to mimic walking the streets of the city. The 272 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 1: main character's point of view is captured and shared with 273 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:11,560 Speaker 1: the audience, and that's something that movie goers of the 274 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 1: nine twenties weren't really accustomed to Today there are dollies 275 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 1: and rigs that are specifically made to make the cameras agile. 276 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 1: But Freund had to really improvise to find ways to 277 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:27,600 Speaker 1: get his shots and to meet Murnal's demands because Urnal 278 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 1: really felt like the film needed to be more dynamic. Yeah, 279 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:35,320 Speaker 1: Freund did everything from attaching cameras to bicycles to strapping 280 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:37,840 Speaker 1: a camera to his waist, and for one scene he 281 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 1: wore the camera on his waist and he crossed the 282 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,360 Speaker 1: set wearing a pair of roller skates with the camera 283 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:46,440 Speaker 1: rolling to create the illusion of drunkenness for the audience. 284 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 1: And for the film's opening shot, he was on a 285 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:52,320 Speaker 1: bicycle as it traveled on an improvised elevator going down 286 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:56,080 Speaker 1: and then essentially he pedaled out into a hotel lobby set, 287 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 1: so it drew the audience into the motion and the 288 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 1: tone in the world of the care during the film instantly. 289 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,240 Speaker 1: I think, living in the era of go pro footage, 290 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:06,640 Speaker 1: it's easy to forget that, like people had to work 291 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:09,720 Speaker 1: out how to make cameras move this way. Yeah, there's 292 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 1: a really great story that one of his colleagues tells 293 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: about how um when mur Now is first like, we 294 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: need to follow this smoke up this this set, and 295 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 1: they're like, um, okay, wait, we got to walk up 296 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:27,280 Speaker 1: the stairs, and how he realized later that they had 297 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:29,760 Speaker 1: already assumed that they could figure out how to carry 298 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 1: the camera. They were just like, but how will we 299 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 1: get up the stairs? Like they had no problem getting 300 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:38,640 Speaker 1: over that idea of taking it off the tripod, but 301 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 1: the next part was just like the logistics of the 302 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,080 Speaker 1: next thing were so big that they didn't even think about, 303 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 1: like just having to hold the camera after the last laugh. 304 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,800 Speaker 1: Mur Now was known as the great impressionist in German 305 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 1: film circles. He took that reputation and used it to 306 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 1: turn out a very sumptuous and extravagant film. Next that 307 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:04,439 Speaker 1: was an adaptation of Muliere's Tartuffe, which debuted in His 308 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: next film was another literary adaptation. That one was Faust, 309 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:13,160 Speaker 1: which debuted in Throughout the mid nineteen twenties, Murnau had 310 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:15,679 Speaker 1: become quite a big name in German cinema, and it 311 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:18,960 Speaker 1: was not long before Hollywood took notice. After the release 312 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 1: of Faust, Fox Film Corporation offered the director a contract 313 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,119 Speaker 1: to move to California and start making films in the 314 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:28,840 Speaker 1: United States. One of Murnau's requests was that he be 315 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,159 Speaker 1: allowed to take his crew with him, and that was 316 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,800 Speaker 1: something that Fox agreed to. Murnau's first project under his 317 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:39,680 Speaker 1: contract was a picture called Sunrise, A Song of two Humans. 318 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,400 Speaker 1: It opens with title cards that read, quote, this song 319 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:45,640 Speaker 1: of the man and his wife is of no place 320 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,080 Speaker 1: in every place. You might hear it anywhere, at any time. 321 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:52,719 Speaker 1: For whatever. The sun rises and sets in the city's 322 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,720 Speaker 1: turmoil or under the open sky on the farm. Life 323 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,399 Speaker 1: is much the same, sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet. The film, 324 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:03,199 Speaker 1: which is considered a masterpiece by a lot of people, uh, 325 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:05,400 Speaker 1: tells the story of a married man who has an 326 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,400 Speaker 1: affair and his lover suggests that he kill his wife 327 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:10,760 Speaker 1: so that he can leave behind his old life and 328 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:13,280 Speaker 1: start a new life in the city with her and 329 00:18:13,359 --> 00:18:15,840 Speaker 1: the man that is all he is named as is 330 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:19,040 Speaker 1: played by Georgio Brien, and he's unable to follow through 331 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 1: on this plan, and instead he reconciles with his wife. Um. 332 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:25,399 Speaker 1: There are a lot of shots in this film that 333 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:29,320 Speaker 1: are considered like the first of their kind. Um there's 334 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:31,399 Speaker 1: one where the two of them are on a trolley car, 335 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:36,240 Speaker 1: kind of passing from a more rural suburban setting into 336 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:40,120 Speaker 1: a city setting that's considered super important. Um. The wife 337 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,919 Speaker 1: in this movie was played by Janet Gaynor. Sunrise was 338 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 1: and still is a critical success. It went on to 339 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 1: win an award at the first Academy Awards that was 340 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:52,639 Speaker 1: held in and it was in the now defunct category 341 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:57,119 Speaker 1: of Unique and Artistic Picture. Janet Gaynor also won Best 342 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 1: Actress that year. She was nominated in three front roles, 343 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,439 Speaker 1: including her work on Sunrise, Seventh Heaven, and Street Angel. 344 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 1: Sunrise one for cinematography and was also nominated for Art 345 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:11,680 Speaker 1: Direction and that all sounds like Sunrise was a big, 346 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:16,240 Speaker 1: big hit, but not so much with audiences. Critics loved it, 347 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:19,040 Speaker 1: but Sunrise just did not draw viewers, and the ticket 348 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,679 Speaker 1: sales on it were really disappointing. Despite all of the 349 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,119 Speaker 1: accolades that the film garnered, Fox decided that Murnow was 350 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:29,680 Speaker 1: going to have less freedom on future projects. Four Devils 351 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 1: Came Out in It told the story of four orphans 352 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:35,440 Speaker 1: who were raised by a clown and became a high 353 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,640 Speaker 1: wire circus act. This is one of Burnow's films which 354 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:42,720 Speaker 1: has not survived. Yeah, that's uh. Sometimes when you talk 355 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:46,080 Speaker 1: to film people, it's definitely mentioned as sort of a 356 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:49,200 Speaker 1: holy Grail film, like they everybody hopes that one day 357 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:52,000 Speaker 1: we will find this film, because it does when you 358 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 1: read treatments of it in script pieces sound very very interesting. 359 00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:59,440 Speaker 1: Our Daily Bread premiered in nine. This film also came 360 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:02,679 Speaker 1: out under a front title, which was City Girl, and Murnow, 361 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:05,879 Speaker 1: still being pretty highly supervised by the studio, did not 362 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:09,679 Speaker 1: have complete control over this project, and additional scenes were 363 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:11,960 Speaker 1: added at the last minute by the studio so that 364 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,520 Speaker 1: there could be some audio dialogue in the film to 365 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:18,119 Speaker 1: take advantage of the audience's interest in talkies. If you 366 00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:20,200 Speaker 1: see it today, you're probably going to see an all 367 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 1: silent version because most um most versions we would see 368 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:27,399 Speaker 1: today are re edited back to what people believe was 369 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:30,760 Speaker 1: was Murnau's initial vision. Naturally, that kind of tampering with 370 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,840 Speaker 1: his work was not something that Murnau was happy about 371 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 1: at all, and an effort to regain his artistic freedom, 372 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:40,800 Speaker 1: he formed a partnership with Robert Flaherty. The two combined 373 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,479 Speaker 1: their efforts to start their own production company, but this 374 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 1: was kind of an odd pairing. Murnau was known for 375 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:48,760 Speaker 1: his fictional work, and that was where his heart really 376 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:51,280 Speaker 1: was as a filmmaker. But Flaherty, on the other hand, 377 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:55,080 Speaker 1: was a documentarian, so working on films together put them 378 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:57,320 Speaker 1: at odds. And we're going to talk about the project 379 00:20:57,320 --> 00:20:59,880 Speaker 1: that Murnaux and Flaherty took on as their first colle 380 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,000 Speaker 1: oberation in just a moment. But first we're going to 381 00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:04,280 Speaker 1: hear from one of the sponsors that keep stuff you 382 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:15,399 Speaker 1: missed in history class going. Murnow and Flaherty's first and 383 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:18,639 Speaker 1: only project together was a film called Taboo that's spelled 384 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:21,439 Speaker 1: t a b U. It was shot on location in 385 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:25,439 Speaker 1: the South Pacific, primarily on Bora, Bora and Tahiti. But 386 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,240 Speaker 1: whereas Flaherty thought that they were making a documentary about 387 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:31,960 Speaker 1: Polynesian culture, mur Now saw the documentary aspects of the 388 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:34,520 Speaker 1: production as a backdrop for a fictional story that he 389 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:38,760 Speaker 1: wanted to tell. The collaboration aspect of this film quickly ended. 390 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,840 Speaker 1: Flaherty left the project pretty early on, although his name 391 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:44,560 Speaker 1: does appear in the credits as a co director. How 392 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: much either of them influenced this film is another thing 393 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,960 Speaker 1: that people sometimes like to debate. Murnow continued, as he 394 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,919 Speaker 1: desired crafting a love story set in the tropics. He 395 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,760 Speaker 1: cast local Islanders and the two lead roles of lovers 396 00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:59,400 Speaker 1: whose desire to be together is at odds with their 397 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:03,200 Speaker 1: cultural rules. Mr Now fell so in love with Tahiti 398 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,160 Speaker 1: that he built himself a home there. His mother later 399 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:09,120 Speaker 1: wrote that he had always been fascinated with the South Seas, 400 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:11,600 Speaker 1: and going there to make Taboo was the culmination of 401 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:15,520 Speaker 1: a lifelong dream. He planned to make more movies there 402 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:18,520 Speaker 1: after Taboo was released, and in the time that was 403 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 1: leading up to the release of Taboo, Murnow, who had 404 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,320 Speaker 1: traveled back to California, had planned to visit his mother, 405 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:27,560 Speaker 1: and before he left for Germany, he planned to have 406 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:30,680 Speaker 1: a creative meeting with author William Morris about some potential 407 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:34,919 Speaker 1: projects together. On the morning of March eleven one, mur 408 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:37,399 Speaker 1: Now stopped by the home of his friend, actress and 409 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,879 Speaker 1: screenwriter Salka Virtel to pick up some sandwiches for the 410 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:43,160 Speaker 1: car ride up to Carmel del Monte, where his meeting 411 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:46,119 Speaker 1: was going to take place. Mur Now was riding in 412 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:48,240 Speaker 1: a hired car, which he planned to take with him 413 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 1: by ship to Germany, and he was traveling with a 414 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,160 Speaker 1: chauffeur for the California drive named John Freeland, as well 415 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:57,240 Speaker 1: as a much younger man, Garcia Stevenson, who the director 416 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 1: had hired to be his valet and driver in Germany. 417 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:03,320 Speaker 1: There are different accounts of what happened next, but a 418 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:06,199 Speaker 1: little less than twenty miles outside of Santa Barbara, the 419 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:08,760 Speaker 1: car Murnau and the other two men were traveling in 420 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:12,679 Speaker 1: skidded off the road and down an embankment. According to 421 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:14,880 Speaker 1: the news story that ran in the New York Times, 422 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:17,639 Speaker 1: the car rolled twice on its thirty ft drop and 423 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:21,399 Speaker 1: then it landed on its roof. Murnow fractured his skull 424 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:24,639 Speaker 1: in the accident and died the next day, and the 425 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,199 Speaker 1: in a bit of an unsettling coincidence, Murnaut had told 426 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:31,679 Speaker 1: friends that he had consulted a fortune teller before starting 427 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:34,080 Speaker 1: his journey, and this fortune teller told him that he 428 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:37,360 Speaker 1: would die in a car on this trip. He had 429 00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:40,280 Speaker 1: thought about taking a ship from California all the way 430 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:42,680 Speaker 1: to Europe instead of driving to New York to cross 431 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 1: the Atlantic, and he thought that would thwart that prediction. Yeah, 432 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,439 Speaker 1: he thought booking this longer cruise was his way around 433 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:53,160 Speaker 1: what fortune teller had told him, So it was Um 434 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 1: one of those sort of creepy coincidences that the fact 435 00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,679 Speaker 1: that he died on the much shortened drive portion of 436 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,080 Speaker 1: his up uh just adds to the mystique of the 437 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 1: whole thing. But this is also an issue that involves 438 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,480 Speaker 1: a lot of rumors, because rumors began to swirl immediately 439 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,440 Speaker 1: as to what exactly had happened to cause this accident, 440 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:15,840 Speaker 1: and there are multiple different accounts, some by his friend 441 00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:20,080 Speaker 1: Um salko Vertel, one by a man who was in 442 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:24,240 Speaker 1: a car behind him. Uh. There is also testimony given 443 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:28,240 Speaker 1: by Freeman because Uh Murnau's mother tried to sue the 444 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:31,000 Speaker 1: company that he had rented the car from, and in 445 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:34,040 Speaker 1: one account, Murnau himself was driving. In others, it was 446 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:37,439 Speaker 1: Murnow's valet, Garcia Stevenson, who was underage. He was a 447 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 1: teenager who was at the wheel. Stories began to circulate 448 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 1: in Hollywood that Murnaux and Stevenson had been engaged in 449 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,560 Speaker 1: a sexual act in the front seat while the chaufeur Freeman, 450 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 1: slept in the back when the accident had happened. Because 451 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:51,440 Speaker 1: all of the men had been thrown from the car 452 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:54,119 Speaker 1: as it had tumbled to its final landing position. Nothing 453 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:56,919 Speaker 1: was clear, and gossip ran rampant. This is still a 454 00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 1: thing that has talked about in large question marks. Nobody 455 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,399 Speaker 1: really knows what caused this accident where the other two 456 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:05,960 Speaker 1: men also killed in it. They were not okay. Uh 457 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,320 Speaker 1: Freeman and Garcia both survived. As I said, Freeman gave 458 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:12,000 Speaker 1: an account during the investigation. Uh. Garcia, I didn't see 459 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:15,840 Speaker 1: anything that that listed a clear account from him. Uh, 460 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,000 Speaker 1: So I'm not entirely sure what happened there. Even the 461 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,399 Speaker 1: accounts of where mer Now was headed to meet the 462 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:23,800 Speaker 1: boat that would take him down to the Panama Canal 463 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:26,320 Speaker 1: and then across the Atlantic were at odds with each other. 464 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:29,919 Speaker 1: One version stated he was headed to San Francisco, another 465 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,200 Speaker 1: claimed he was going to San Diego after the visit 466 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:35,760 Speaker 1: with Morris. All these rumors gave Burnow's sudden death a 467 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:40,159 Speaker 1: very seedy and unpleasant association. Only eleven people attended the 468 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,800 Speaker 1: funeral that was held for him in Los Angeles. Yeah 469 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:44,919 Speaker 1: it with some of his collaborators, a couple of actors 470 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:47,359 Speaker 1: he had worked with, a couple of his very close friends. 471 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:52,080 Speaker 1: After Murnau's body was transported to Germany, which took considerable effort, 472 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:55,720 Speaker 1: and paperwork. There was another service held there and filmmaker 473 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 1: Fritz Lang gave a eulogy, which was described by art 474 00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:01,879 Speaker 1: director Robert Hurleth. This also interesting because Fritz Lang was 475 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:07,240 Speaker 1: considered something of a competitor to Murnau, but according to 476 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 1: her quote, he Fritz described Murnau striding into the studio, 477 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:15,280 Speaker 1: always good tempered, smiling, affably, able by his mere presence 478 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:19,760 Speaker 1: to kindle enthusiasm. He seemed like some great aristocrat, interesting 479 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:23,159 Speaker 1: himself in the cinema, partly out of curiosity and partly 480 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:25,879 Speaker 1: by way of amusement, which was in fact what a 481 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,760 Speaker 1: lot of people believed. In reality, he was a tireless 482 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:34,000 Speaker 1: and thorough worker. Behind his gayety was an indefatigable energy 483 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:36,840 Speaker 1: that was nonetheless there because he liked to hide it. 484 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:40,920 Speaker 1: Taboo was released on schedule just a week after Murnow's death. 485 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:44,800 Speaker 1: It wasn't a box office success. Mur Now was finally 486 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:49,760 Speaker 1: buried in Stansdorff Cemetery outside of Berlin. Even the burial 487 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:52,960 Speaker 1: became a source of gossip, as stories started to circulate 488 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,920 Speaker 1: that the director's coffin was unburied in a seller because 489 00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:00,320 Speaker 1: there wasn't any money to have it interred at. German 490 00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:03,800 Speaker 1: film periodical published a counter to that rumor, stating that 491 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:06,480 Speaker 1: the delay in putting Murnau's coffin in the ground was 492 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:10,720 Speaker 1: because of the chapel not being completed. After Murnau's sudden death, 493 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:13,359 Speaker 1: his family came to know a whole new side of 494 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:16,960 Speaker 1: the director. His brother Robert traveled to Tahiti to deal 495 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:20,280 Speaker 1: with Murnau's property in his business there, and in Robert's account, 496 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:22,480 Speaker 1: he said that when he arrived at the port, the 497 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: locals essentially ignored him, which was a stark contrast to 498 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:29,160 Speaker 1: the warm greeting that all of the other disembarking travelers 499 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:33,280 Speaker 1: had received. Allegedly, the home that Murnau had built there 500 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:36,480 Speaker 1: was on the sacred soil of ancient temples, something that 501 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:39,560 Speaker 1: he had been warned would bring him misfortune, and in 502 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:43,040 Speaker 1: his brother Robert's explanation, the locals believed that Murnau had 503 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,520 Speaker 1: brought his death upon himself and viewed anyone associated with 504 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:50,160 Speaker 1: him as carrying the curse as well. Eventually, Robert said 505 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:51,840 Speaker 1: that he was able to win over the people of 506 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:54,520 Speaker 1: Tahiti and that they confided in him that they have 507 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:57,560 Speaker 1: had really loved his brother, whether that is true or not, 508 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:02,119 Speaker 1: We do not know. Uh. Robert definitely made an effort 509 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:06,480 Speaker 1: to present sort of a whitewashed version of Murnau after 510 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,920 Speaker 1: his death. For example, there there had been a lot 511 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:12,240 Speaker 1: of rumors and a lot of discussion that he had 512 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,040 Speaker 1: been a homosexual. There's some theories that that's why he 513 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 1: was so eager to take the job in Hollywood, it 514 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:18,719 Speaker 1: was going to be a less restrictive culture than it 515 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,720 Speaker 1: was in Germany at the time. Robert vehemently denied that 516 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,159 Speaker 1: anything of the type could happen. This is sort of 517 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:25,959 Speaker 1: the trick with Murnau is that there are a lot 518 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:28,560 Speaker 1: of people involved with a stake in his story that 519 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:30,719 Speaker 1: want to tell it very different ways and paint him 520 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:33,240 Speaker 1: very differently. Yeah, you'll like, you'll see him on a 521 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 1: lot of lists of like early gay film pioneers and 522 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:41,160 Speaker 1: that type of stuff, like those types of more celebratory lists. 523 00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:44,719 Speaker 1: But then there's other like this whole story of potentially 524 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 1: building a house on a sacred site like that has 525 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:51,560 Speaker 1: its own connotations. Yes, for sure, and it is. It's 526 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:53,120 Speaker 1: one of those tricky things. We talked about it on 527 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,720 Speaker 1: the show a lot. When someone is not maybe publicly 528 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:02,200 Speaker 1: out as homosexual, On the one hand, they they are 529 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:05,280 Speaker 1: entitled to their own privacy even after death. On the other, 530 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: I understand the desire for representation and for people to 531 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:10,600 Speaker 1: be able to see that this has always been part 532 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:13,240 Speaker 1: of our history. And in Murno's case, like I said, 533 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:16,280 Speaker 1: it's tricky because different people involved in his life tell 534 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:20,680 Speaker 1: his story very, very differently. Yeah, so there is certainly 535 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,080 Speaker 1: some degree of evidence to suggest that that he was 536 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:28,040 Speaker 1: in fact homosexual, but in the very protected enclave of Hollywood. 537 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:32,600 Speaker 1: So and also a place where there were lots of rumors. Um. 538 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:35,600 Speaker 1: I feel like we've talked about other figures who's um 539 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:39,080 Speaker 1: whose relationships are a lot more clear and even like 540 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:41,080 Speaker 1: even if they were living in a time before that 541 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 1: was such a clearly established identity in the way that 542 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:48,040 Speaker 1: it is today, like we had more documentation of their 543 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:51,200 Speaker 1: relationships and what their life was like than this particular 544 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:55,360 Speaker 1: aspect of his life. In nineteen sixties six, the fw 545 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:59,280 Speaker 1: Murnal Foundation was established to preserve Germany's film history. This 546 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 1: foundation and maintains and evaluates and manages German films quote 547 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 1: for the promotion of German film culture and film art. Yeah, 548 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:09,520 Speaker 1: they also do a lot of work to contextualize, for example, 549 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,640 Speaker 1: films that were made during the Third Reich UH and 550 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:15,520 Speaker 1: just kind of trace how film has developed in Germany 551 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:19,240 Speaker 1: over the years. And in a final chapter that makes 552 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:22,600 Speaker 1: Murnau the perfect subject for one of our October episodes. 553 00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:27,200 Speaker 1: He became a headline again in t as Murnau's work 554 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 1: and particularly No Staratu had gained a cult following in 555 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:33,320 Speaker 1: the second half of the twentieth century. His tomb began 556 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:37,360 Speaker 1: to be not just visited but broken into. Then in July, 557 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:42,080 Speaker 1: the coffin was found opened and Murnow's skull was gone. 558 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:46,280 Speaker 1: Who stole it remains a mystery. There was candlewax left 559 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:48,680 Speaker 1: at the scene, which led authorities to speculate that it 560 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:52,520 Speaker 1: might have been quote some sort of occult practice. I 561 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:55,840 Speaker 1: can think of various non occult reasons for there to 562 00:30:55,880 --> 00:31:00,480 Speaker 1: have been candlewax there, But regardless, the skull remains at large. Uh. 563 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:02,440 Speaker 1: We don't know where it is and his tomb, the 564 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:04,920 Speaker 1: cemetery that he was buried in, is in a forest 565 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 1: outside of Berlin. He is buried between two family members, 566 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:13,840 Speaker 1: his his brother and his father and um it's it's 567 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,120 Speaker 1: one of those places where a lot of notable people 568 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:18,720 Speaker 1: in German history have been buried, and it's considered really 569 00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:22,360 Speaker 1: a huge cultural loss that his his tomb and his 570 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:25,240 Speaker 1: burial place was desecrated in this way. We have no 571 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:29,680 Speaker 1: idea where that skull is. Maybe some days someone will 572 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:32,400 Speaker 1: come forward with it, or a family member will pass 573 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:34,560 Speaker 1: and they will discover that they were hiding it all along. 574 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:38,000 Speaker 1: We don't know. Maybe it will be found with his films. 575 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 1: We can only hope. Um. That's clearly jesting on my part. 576 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 1: Do you have a listener mail for us? I do, 577 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:50,200 Speaker 1: and it's Halloween themed. Uh. This is from our listener, Hannah, 578 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:52,920 Speaker 1: and she sent us a postcard. She writes, Dear Holly 579 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:55,960 Speaker 1: and Tracy, I was passing through Denver International Airport and 580 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:59,560 Speaker 1: I came across this exhibit called Haunted Colorado. I'm looking 581 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:01,840 Speaker 1: forward to attending your live show in Denver this month 582 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:03,600 Speaker 1: and thought you would want to check out this exhibit 583 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:06,440 Speaker 1: as you travel through. It's outside security on the bridge 584 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:08,800 Speaker 1: between the main terminal and the A terminal. I love 585 00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:11,800 Speaker 1: your show. My family and I can't wait to see you. Hannah. 586 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:13,120 Speaker 1: We can't wait to see you either. This is a 587 00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 1: good time to remind people that we're about to go 588 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:18,680 Speaker 1: on tour um. We will be in Denver and Chicago 589 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:20,560 Speaker 1: here at the end of October, and then we will 590 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:24,520 Speaker 1: do Austin, Dallas and Houston in mid November. So if 591 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:26,640 Speaker 1: you are interested in coming to any of those shows, 592 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:30,000 Speaker 1: please do. You can check out our website Missed in 593 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:32,040 Speaker 1: History dot com and go to the link This is 594 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:35,160 Speaker 1: Live Shows for more information and to get tickets. We 595 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:38,440 Speaker 1: hope to see you there because I'm excited the uh. 596 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:45,000 Speaker 1: The October shows will be HALLOWEENI themed. Uh So, Hannah, 597 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:47,200 Speaker 1: thank you so much for sending us this postcard. I 598 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:49,600 Speaker 1: am one percent going to try to check that out 599 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:51,920 Speaker 1: when I come through the airport. UH. If you would 600 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:53,200 Speaker 1: like to write to us, you can do so at 601 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:55,760 Speaker 1: History podcast at house works dot com. You can also 602 00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:58,400 Speaker 1: find us everywhere on social media as Missed in History, 603 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:01,040 Speaker 1: and our website is Missed in his Street dot com. 604 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:03,400 Speaker 1: We suggest that you subscribe to the show. 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