Behind the Curtain of Death

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1923

Production year

1923

Premiere

11 August 1923

Runtime

65 min

Category

film

Genre

drama, fantastic

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Za oponou smrti

Czech title

Za oponou smrti

English title

Behind the Curtain of Death

Parallel title

Zázračný lékař / Byl to jen sen...

English parallel title

The Miracle Doctor / It Was Only a Dream

Synopsis

Doctor Mortal has discovered the elixir of life and he revives the dead body of a drowned girl which he had stolen from the mortuary. In order that he find out whether the girl feels like a real woman, he introduces her to his son who falls in love with her. Mortal unfortunately forgets the recipe for the elixir and the girl dies again. "Mortal's son bids farewell to the girl in the mortuary and places a lily by her head with the words: I will follow you". (According to an article appearing in the press at the time the film was made.)

Note

Only a fragment of the film has survived, without intertitles. This was an attempt at an avant-garde film with only outlined sets on a black background.

Cast

Karel Fiala

hrobník

Ferdinand Fiala

sluha-idiot

Karel Vávra

Mortalův syn

Dolly Dvořanová-Pospíšilová

utonulá

Crew and creators

Screenstory

Ferenc Futurista

Director of Photography

Otto Heller

Production Designer

Ferdinand Fiala

Production info

Original Title

Za oponou smrti

Czech Title

Za oponou smrti

English Title

Behind the Curtain of Death

Parallel Title

Zázračný lékař / Byl to jen sen...

English Parallel Title

The Miracle Doctor / It Was Only a Dream

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama, fantastic

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1923

Production Year

1923

Premiere

premiere 11 August 1923 /unsuitable for youths/ (kino Louvre, Praha)
renewed premiere 1926 /unsuitable for youths/

Copyright Holders

Národní filmový archiv

Distribution

Oceanfilm (původní 1923), Svetofilm (obnovená 1926)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

65 min

Original length in metres

1 850 meters

Distribution carrier

35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,33

Colour

black & white

Sound

silent

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

without dialogue

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Intertitles languages

Czech

Opening/End credits languages

Czech