Must-Watch List in the Vein of Hampels Abenteuer: Cult Guide

Dir: Richard Oswald

The second syphilis film poses the moral question: namely how far an illness should be considered a human disgrace. The protagonist of this story, a young doctor, believes that only characterless people can contract the disease through reprehensible actions. At a meeting in honor of a venereologist, a violent dispute erupts between the doctor who applies moral categories and a colleague who argues more objectively. Two events make the dogmatic young doctor think: his sister marries a syphilitic who has not yet been completely healed, and he himself falls ill as a result of a kiss from a young woman who also suffers from syphilis. But the doctor is healed and reconsiders his previous attitude.

Dir: Richard Oswald

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Dämon und Mensch perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Philanthropist attempts to awaken in the good side in criminals.

Dir: Richard Oswald

About unwanted pregnancies and abortions as a result of unprotected sexual intercourse.

Dir: Richard Oswald

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Es werde Licht! 4. Teil: Sündige Mütter perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

In ancient, Tsarist Russia. Fyodor Protasov's marriage to his wife Lisa is over. However, the Russian Orthodox Church does not approve of a divorce, and so Protasov fakes his own suicide, before Lisa move in with her lover Viktor Karenin. Fyodor himself becomes a "living corpse".

Dir: Richard Oswald

In the third part syphilis is also at the center of the action. This time a landowner falls ill. He proves to be a real fiend, tyrannizes his wife and seduces the daughter of the forester he employs. When the young woman thinks she can't find a way out, she seeks suicide. Finally, the despot also dies and, post mortem, takes his son with him into the misfortune. The latter believes that he too is suffering from syphilis and is soon obsessed with this delusion.

Dir: Richard Oswald

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Der lebende Leichnam perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Richard Oswald

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Richard Oswald

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Es werde Licht! 3. Teil perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Thomas Bezug, the richest man in the world, is a solitary, domineering and cruel cripple who hardly can move on his crutches. He dwells a fanatical love for his son, whom he holds like a monkey in a cage.

Dir: Richard Oswald

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: Richard Oswald

A variation of the famous Oscar Wilde tale in which Dorian Gray's soul is manifested in a painting instead of his own body.