Genuine (1920)

Watching Silent Films

Robert Wiene's Genuine: A Tale of a Vampire follows-up his massively successful 1919 film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, using the same writer, production designer, and cinematographer who had worked on the previous film.

Genuine (Fern Andra) is not actually a vampire in the film, but rather a vamp (succubus) who uses her powers of seduction to torment and control the men who love her. The plot utilizes the old it was all just a dream-type ending, as the proceedings are revealed to be a dream suffered by a man who falls asleep while reading a scary book. The film did not do well at the box office, and Genuine was edited down into a 45-minute condensed version, which is the cut that has most commonly been available, making it very hard to judge the film, as discussed within this podcast.

Want to watch something short after listening to this podcast?

Check out The Portrait (1915) - a Russian silent horror film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZaxq-POoQU

Looking to read more about Robert Wiene? Beyond Caligari By Uli Jung & Walter Schatzberg is a fantastic start! Paperback and hardcover copies of the book can be found at Amazon.com

Need another take on the movie? Read this article:

Obscure Films: “Genuine: A Tale Of A Vampire” (1920)

https://silentology.wordpress.com/2017/10/24/obscure-films-genuine-a-tale-of-a-vampire-1920/

Hosted by YiFeng, Bob and Lily

Recorded on September 2, 2020