The Stone Rider

1923 DramaHorror 86 minutes Directed by Fritz Wendhausen

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About The Stone Rider

A wedding feast in a mountain village is the frame for an older story. The lord of the castle claims the first night with a vassal’s bride. The groom strikes at him and kills the bride instead. Her sister, a shepherdess, sets out to take revenge, then stays because she has come to love the lord. When the peasants capture him, she frees him. On the road to his castle, lightning turns the two of them to stone.

Cast & crew

More about The Stone Rider

Fritz Wendhausen directed and wrote the script from an idea by Thea von Harbou. Erich Pommer produced it for Decla-Bioskop in Berlin. Carl Hoffmann and Günther Rittau photographed it on the Neubabelsberg outdoor lot from May to August 1922. Censorship passed it on January 16, 1923. The censored length was 1,978 meters. The German title is Der steinerne Reiter, subtitled Eine Filmballade. Giuseppe Becce wrote music for the premiere.

Themes

  • the right of the first night
  • a groom who kills his own bride
  • a shepherdess who stays with the lord
  • lightning that turns the riders to stone
  • castle lord
  • first night
  • shepherdess
  • peasants
  • lightning
  • stone

Making

The outdoor medieval village was built at Neubabelsberg and shot through the summer of 1922, months before the January 1923 premiere.

Look

Carl Hoffmann and Günther Rittau shot the Neubabelsberg village and the ride that ends when the pair are turned to stone.

Music

Giuseppe Becce wrote the music played at the Berlin premiere.

Preservation

A print is on the Internet Archive under the identifier silent-der-steinerne-reiter.

Notes

  • Rudolf Klein-Rogge plays the lord of the mountain. Lucie Mannheim plays the shepherdess.
  • German Wikipedia also names Martin Lübbert as the groom and Anni Mewes as the bride.
  • Georg John, Emilia Unda, Grete Berger, and Gustav von Wangenheim are in the cast.
  • The premiere was at the U.T. Kurfürstendamm in Berlin.
  • Filmportal lists the same 1,978-meter print at 73 minutes.

Scenes

  • The lord rides into the wedding and claims the bride for the first night.
  • The groom’s blow kills the bride instead of the lord.
  • The shepherdess frees him when the peasants have him.
  • Lightning turns the two riders to stone on the road to the castle.

Influenced by

  • Thea von Harbou's story idea

Also available

  • Internet Archive (silent-der-steinerne-reiter)