Writer
Rupp (Jannings) is a former butcher, made rich in the meat packing industry as a result of the reversal of fortunes brought on by WWI. He is crude, uncouth and uneducated. His son, Fred, is the apple of his father's eye and is an auto enthusiast. The widowed Rupp falls in love with a former aristocrat, Helen, now down on her luck and pawning her last heirloom. He proposes marriage and she accepts in order to save her ailing mother who needs a monetary influx to avoid death. Her former boyfriend, Platen, warns Helen against Rupp's intentions - he and Rupp are enemies, Rupp having caused his being fired for protecting a chorus girl against Rupp's unwanted advances. Meanwhile, Graf, a shyster, arranges purchase of a near bankrupt auto manufacturing firm, Phoenix, to Rupp's great advantage with practically no monetary recognition to Graf, who swears revenge. Rupp comes upon his son begging Helen not to marry his father but to return to Platen.
Novel
어느 음산한 밤, 귀신들린 성의 방문자들의 오랫동안 숨겨진 비밀이 드러나면서 질투, 위선, 불길한 꿈과 살인이 벌어진다. 무르나우의 다른 많은 작품들처럼 이 영화 역시 로케이션 촬영, 고유의 분위기, 냉혹한 리얼리즘, 절제된 연기에서 스웨덴 학파의 영향을 보여준다. 안개 자욱한 몽환적인 풍경은 인물들의 감정적 불안을 반영하는 성의 내부 건축과 아름답게 대조된다. (제천국제음악영화제)
