The Indian Tomb, Part I: The Mission of the Yoghi
About The Indian Tomb, Part I: The Mission of the Yoghi
Ayan, Maharajah of Eschnapur, sends the yogi Ramigani to England. Architect Herbert Rowland is to build a tomb for Princess Savitri. The yogi binds him, and the letter Rowland left for his fiancée Irene vanishes. She follows with a servant's help. In Eschnapur, Rowland learns Savitri is alive, locked up for her affair with the British officer Mac Allan, and that Ayan means to kill them both.
Cast & crew
More about The Indian Tomb, Part I: The Mission of the Yoghi
Joe May directed. Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou wrote the script from Harbou's novel. Wikidata also lists Erich Pommer with May as producer. Werner Brandes and Karl Puth photographed it. Wilhelm Löwitt wrote the music. Martin Jacoby-Boy designed the sets, according to the Murnau Stiftung. Shot at Woltersdorf and Rüdersdorf near Berlin. German premiere of part 1 was October 22, 1921, at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo in Berlin. Censorship on October 20, 1921, number B.04517, banned it for youth. Filmportal and the Murnau Stiftung give six acts and 2,957 meters. The Stiftung converts that to 109 minutes. Wikidata says 120 minutes. The German title is Das indische Grabmal, Teil 1: Die Sendung des Yoghi. Part 2, Der Tiger von Eschnapur, opened November 19, 1921. A restored two-part version runs 212 minutes. Conrad Veidt is Ayan. Olaf Fønss is Rowland. Mia May is Irene. Paul Richter is Mac Allan. Erna Morena is Savitri. Bernhard Goetzke is Ramigani. Lya De Putti is the dancer Mirrjha.
Themes
Making
May-Film built the Indian palace story on the Woltersdorf lot and at Rüdersdorf, not in India.
Look
Werner Brandes and Karl Puth shot the Woltersdorf and Rüdersdorf sets.
Music
Wilhelm Löwitt composed the music.
Preservation
The Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung holds the film. A restored cut of both parts runs 212 minutes.
Notes
- The German Wikipedia plot of part 1 has Mirrjha carry messages between Mac Allan and Savitri, locks Rowland and Irene in the palace, and ends with Mac Allan escaping a tiger-hunt ambush. It does not kill Savitri in this part.
- The Murnau Stiftung summary instead has Savitri leap from a cliff, Rowland finish the tomb, and the couple leave India.
- Lewis Brody plays a servant of the maharajah. Karl Platen plays Rowland's servant.
- Georg John, Hermann Picha, Wilhelm Diegelmann, and Wolfgang von Schwindt are also on the German Wikipedia cast.
Scenes
- Ramigani makes Rowland's letter to Irene disappear.
- Rowland finds Savitri alive and imprisoned.
- Mac Allan is drawn into a tiger hunt, in the German Wikipedia account of part 1.
Influenced by
- Thea von Harbou's novel Das indische Grabmal
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-mysteries-of-india-part-i-truth)
- Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung
