The Chronicles of the Gray House
About The Chronicles of the Gray House
Around 1700 at Schloss Grieshuus in Holstein, the lord names his elder son Hinrich heir. The younger son, Detlev, has gone to the city to study law. Hinrich saves Bärbe, daughter of the serf Owe Heiken, from soldiers and means to marry her against his father. The father dies. Detlev claims the house and tries to split Hinrich and Bärbe. She is pregnant, gives birth early, and dies. The child lives. Hinrich kills Detlev and runs.
Cast & crew
More about The Chronicles of the Gray House
Arthur von Gerlach directed. Thea von Harbou adapted Theodor Storm's 1884 novella. Erich Pommer produced it at UFA. Fritz Arno Wagner, Carl Drews, and Erich Nitzschmann photographed it. Gottfried Huppertz wrote the music. Robert Herlth and Walter Röhrig designed the studio sets. Hans Poelzig designed the exteriors. Shooting ran from May 1923 to November 1924 around Wilsede and on the Neubabelsberg lot. The premiere was February 11, 1925, at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo in Berlin. Censorship is dated February 9, 1925, B.09812. Filmportal gives 2,966 metres and 109 minutes, in six acts. German Wikipedia gives 110 minutes. Paul Hartmann plays Hinrich. Lil Dagover plays Bärbe. Rudolf Forster plays Detlev.
Themes
Making
Poelzig's exterior castle and the Lüneburg Heath locations carry the Holstein story.
Look
Fritz Arno Wagner, Carl Drews, and Erich Nitzschmann shot the heath and Poelzig's castle exterior.
Music
Gottfried Huppertz wrote the score.
Notes
- The German title is Zur Chronik von Grieshuus. A subtitle used in Germany is Um das Erbe von Grieshuus.
- Arthur Kraußneck plays the old lord. Rudolf Rittner plays Owe Heiken. Gertrud Welcker plays Gesine.
- It was Gerlach's second film and his last.
- Storm's novella, not a Hauptmann play, is the source.
Scenes
- Hinrich pulls Bärbe away from the soldiers.
- He kills Detlev after Bärbe dies in childbirth.
Influenced by
- Theodor Storm's novella Zur Chronik von Grieshuus (1884)
