Dr.Caligari (Werner Krauss) and Cesare (Conrad Veidt)
Classic silent film about murder and a strange somnabulist. The sets are something to see. Just because it’s silent, don’t avoid it. This is a classic of the era.
Francis tells what happened to him, his fiancee Jane and their friend Alan via flashback.
A fair comes to Holstenwall. One exhibit is run by Dr.Caligari. He has Cesare the somnabulist (Conrad Veidt). He says has been asleep for twenty-three years day and night. Caligari says he’ll awaken Cesare and you can ask him anything because he knows the past and can see the future.
Alan asks how long he’ll live. Cesare says until the break of dawn. There’s already been one murder in town. Alan and Francis agree to let Jane choose between them and they’ll still be friends. Night falls. So does Alan.
Francis suspects Cesare and wants the police to investigate him. Meanwhile a man tried to stab an old woman and the police think they have their man. Word reaches Francis and Dr.Olsen, Jane’s father, as they’re about to examine Cesare. So much for that.
That night Cesare sneaks into Jane’s bedroom with a knife. She wakes up and he carries her off. Her father and the servants wake up and give chase. Cesare drops Jane on the ground and takes off.
Francis says it couldn’t have been Cesare because he was watching him sleep. The prisoner is still in his cell. What’s going on? The movie now takes a few bizarre turns. Don’t miss this one.
Along with a number of movies through the 40’s Conrad Veidt played Major Heinrich Strasser in the 1942 classic “Casablanca.”
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