
Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam
Paul Wegener's definitive retelling of the Jewish legend of the Golem is one of the great achievements of German Expressionism — and a direct ancestor of every Frankenstein film that followed. In 16th-century Prague, Rabbi Loew shapes a giant figure from clay and uses kabbalistic magic to bring it to life, hoping to protect the Jewish community from imperial persecution. But the creature, once animated, develops a will of its own. The towering sets — all leaning walls and impossible angles — create a Prague that feels like it exists outside of time. The Golem's rampage through the ghetto gates remains one of silent cinema's most powerful images: a protector becoming the very thing it was built to prevent.
Paul Wegener's definitive retelling of the Jewish legend of the Golem is one of the great achievements of German Expressionism — and a direct ancestor of every Frankenstein film that followed. In 16th-century Prague, Rabbi Loew shapes a giant figure from clay and uses kabbalistic magic to bring it to life, hoping to protect the Jewish community from imperial persecution. But the creature, once animated, develops a will of its own. The towering sets — all leaning walls and impossible angles — create a Prague that feels like it exists outside of time. The Golem's rampage through the ghetto gates remains one of silent cinema's most powerful images: a protector becoming the very thing it was built to prevent.

Paul Wegener
The Golem

Albert Steinrück
Rabbi Loew

Lyda Salmonova
Miriam, the Rabbi's Daughter

Ernst Deutsch
Rabbi Famulus
Hans Stürm
Rabbi Jehuda, the Elder of the Community
Max Kronert
Temple Servant

Otto Gebühr
Emperor
Dore Paetzold
Emperor's Concubine
Lothar Müthel
Knight Florian

Greta Schröder
Young Woman with Rose

Loni Nest
Little Girl
Carl Ebert
Temple Servant (uncredited)

Fritz Feld
Jester (uncredited)
Ursula Nest
Little Girl (uncredited)
composer
writer
cinematographer
cinematographer
writer