The Cabinet Of Dr.

Caligari

Figure 1
Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari Is a 1920 silent movie
directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay written by
Hanz Janowitz and Carl Mayer. It was the first
psychological horror film and the first example in
cinema of German Expressionism.
The film tells the story of Dr Caligari(Werner Krauss)
and his carnival attraction a somnambulist by the name
of Cesare(Conrad Veidt). Cesare is a young man that
has been sleeping for 23 years and is presented in an
upright coffin.
The narrator, Francis(Friedrich Feher) and his friend
Alan(Hans Heinrich Von Twardowski) visit the carnival
and are lured in by Dr Caligari. Caligari claims that
Cesare can answer any question asked. Alan asks
Cesare how long he will live and Cesare replies “ Until
tomorrows dawn”
Alan is strangled that evening and Francis and his
girlfriend Jane(Lil Dagover) become suspicious that Dr
Caligari has something to do with it. This sets the
suspense for the rest of the film.
At the time the film was written, Germany was
suffering a great depression due to being defeated in
WW1. Strict sanctions put in place by the American
government caused food shortages and hunger, civilians
were depressed from losing the war, lack of
employment and the loss of life.
“World War 1 and its aftermath is the dark shadow that
hangs over the entire period leading up to the Great
Depression.”(Christopher 2019, cited in Maury K 1929)
The morale was so low that people were looking for an
escape from reality.
German Expressionism began during this time as a
movement using visual distortion to reflect people’s
thoughts and inner fears. Expressionists sought to
“emphasize subjects suggestive of interior states” and to
explore emotions through mise-en-scene.
The cabinet of Dr Caligari was among one of the first
films to be made in this style. The use of scenery and
lighting in the film expresses the insanity of the mind
showing strong emotions such as paranoia, fear and
schizophrenia. The painted and distorted sets expressed
the inner emotions of the characters, exaggerated
camera angles showed fear, horror and pain.
 Figure 2

Throughout the film the painted sets are unnaturally

distorted and asymmetrical expressing an escapism
from reality.
In reality buildings are supposed to have symmetrical
windows and upright but in the film all the buildings,
doors and windows are at distorted angles.
 Figure 3

In every scene Weine painted the floor in two tones

reflecting the contrast of light and shadow expressing
anxiety and insanity. The mood and atmosphere is very
dark. Dr. Caligari and Cesare are filmed with shadows
on their faces which show the dark sides of their
personalities.
By inventing this world of distorted and asymmetrical
shapes the director used a narrator (Francis) to tell the
story from the perspective of an insane individual. You
get a glimpse of what he sees. A crooked and distorted
world of darkness and disturbing angles.
 Figure 4

All the characters have equally disturbing

characteristics. They act strange and weird with
exaggerated movements. Most of the characters were
based on experiences that the writers Hans Janowitz and
Carl Mayer had at the time.
Janowitz had been an officer in the war and had
returned to Germany with a hatred for authority. He met
Mayer in Berlin who shared his views. The two friends
related to each other on a common ground. Mayer had
pretended to be mad to avoid doing military service,
this led to many examinations from a psychiatrist. The
psychiatrist became Dr. Caligari in the film.
The two writers were penniless after the war and
Mayer’s actress friend (Gilda Langer) suggested they
write a film together. She was represented by the
character Jane in the film.
She suggested to Janowitz that he goes to see a fortune
teller who tells him that he will survive the war but
Langer will die. This came true in 1920 when she died
at the age of 23. This inspired the scene predicting
Alan’s death.
One evening they went out for a walk and came across
a fair on Kantstrasse. There was a sideshow called
“Man and Machine”. A strong man was displaying his
abnormal strength but whilst doing this was uttering
strange noises to himself. This fascinated the spectators,
Janowitz and Mayer, this initial experience at the fair
made everything come together and within six weeks
they had completed the manuscript.
This one experience helped the friends to visualise what
they wanted in their film
Janowitz called himself “ the father who planted the
seed and Mayer the mother who conceived and ripened
it” Robert, W.(1919) Robert Weine: The Cabinet Of Dr.
Caligari. London: Lorrimer Publishing Limited.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a film that reflects the
feelings and emotions of the German people at a time
when the country was in a deep depression and need of
an escape.
Carl Mayer and Hans Janowitz themselves a product of
WW1 wrote this film as an anti-war film. Through their
film they wanted to show how powerful men can
hypnotize millions into doing their bidding, even it
turned them into killers and murderers. Throughout the
film we are led to believe that Cesare is the killer and
Dr. Caligari is controlling him. Dr. Caligari was a
symbol of totalitarian power who at the end of the film
is the director of the lunatic asylum.
The character of Dr. Caligari represents an authority
that seeks power and desires to rule and dominate over
all, to the point where he undervalues humanity and it’s
civil rights. Cesare just becomes the instrument. He is
not a murderer but a puppet of authority, the common
man that is put under pressure of war and made to kill
or be killed.
The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari was definitely a film to
revolutionise the thinking of the German public. Weine
was aware of this and some say by implying that
Francis was insane and part of the insane asylum he was
trying to soften the political message the film was
portraying by sending the message that you must be
mad to question the authority of the government. Hanz
Janowitz and Carl Mayer attacked Weine for adding the
framing device of the lunatic asylum because it put their
film “ in a box “ (Janowitz, 1990:237) and turned the
main character from hero to madman.
This film has stood the test of time and is a perfect
example of German Expressionism showing the
thoughts and feelings at a time of deep unrest.
List of illustrations:

Figure 1. 1921 Movie Gallery[poster] At:

http://www.impawards.com/1921/alpha1.htmlet-
caligari-wiene-horror

Figure 2. Cesare the Somnambulist[film still] At:

https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/janl0001/category/2016-
df2009/

Figure 3. Cesare abducting Jane[film still]At:

https://homemcr.org/film/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari/

Figure 4. Insane Asylum[film still] At:

https://www.fiction-hack.com/universal-horror-
movies-halloween-special-i-fiction-hack-episode-16/
Bibliography:

Books:

Robert Weine(1919) The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari.

Joe Bob Briggs(2003) Profoundly Disturbing Shocking

Movies That Changed History.

Website:

Clayton Dillard(October 2014)The Cabinet Of Dr.

Caligari. https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-
cabinet-of-dr-caligari-1920/

Roger Ebert(June 2009)The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari

Movie Review(1920)
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-
the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-1920
Christopher Klein(February 2019)How Economic
Turmoil After WW1 Led To Great Depression.
https://www.history.com/news/world-war-i-cause-
great-depressi

Kevin Kryah(May2015)The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari:

Dark relationships with Post-war Germany. https://the-
artifice.com/the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-dark-
relationship-with-postwar-germany/

Phelim O Neill(October 2010)The Cabinet Of Dr.

Caligari: No 16 Best Horror Film Of All Time.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/22/cabin

Lee Pfeiffer: The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Cabinet-of-Dr-
Caligari

Daniel Portillo(December 2012)Films and Architecture

“The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari”
https://www.archdaily.com/300945/films-
architecture-the-cabinet-of-dr-caligarion