Algol (1920 film)

Lore & Background

The film's plot centers on Robert Herne, a coal miner who falls in love with Maria Obal, the daughter of a mine owner. While working in the mine, he encounters an inhabitant of a planet of the star Algol, who gives him a prototype machine providing virtually unlimited power. Over the next year, Herne sets up a factory, but instead of relieving workers, the device causes massive economic upheaval worldwide. Over 20 years, Herne increases his power but loses touch with Maria, who lives in a region beyond his influence. His son Robert Herne Jr. attempts a coup to seize the machine's secrets, while Maria's son Peter Obal travels to ask Herne for aid for his country, whose coal reserves have expired. Herne initially refuses, but after Maria visits him, he realizes his corruption and destroys the machine, preventing his son from taking control after his death.

Reader's Guide

Algol is significant as an early German science fiction film from 1920, directed by Hans Werckmeister and starring Emil Jannings and John Gottowt. Its sets were designed by Walter Reimann, one of the set designers of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, released earlier in 1920. Contemporary critics praised Reimann's set design and Graatkjaer's cinematography but found the film a strange mixture of realism and fantasy, with a lack of logic in the story, though it had poetically interesting moments. For many years believed lost, an intact version was recovered and screened by The Museum of Modern Art on November 29, 2010, as part of their exhibition Weimar Cinema, 1919–1933: Daydreams and Nightmares. The film's exploration of unlimited power and corruption, set against expressionist design, marks it as a notable early entry in science fiction cinema.

Did You Know?

• The film was believed lost for many years before an intact version was recovered.
• The film was first released on 3 September 1920 in Berlin.
• The alien from the star Algol gives the protagonist a machine that produces unlimited energy.

Narrative Arc & Thematic Core

The film traces Robert Herne, a coal miner, whose life is transformed when he encounters an extraterrestrial being from the star Algol. This visitor hands him a prototype device capable of generating virtually limitless energy. Rather than simply easing the toil of miners, Herne's invention triggers sweeping economic disruption across the globe. Over the following two decades, he accumulates ever greater power and influence, drifting apart from Maria Obal, his former close friend, who resides in the one region his reach does not extend. The narrative also follows Reginald, Herne's son, whose hunger for the machine's secrets drives him to stage a failed coup against his father. Meanwhile, Maria's son Peter Hell journeys to Herne seeking aid for his homeland, whose coal reserves have been exhausted. Herne's initial refusal, followed by Maria's personal visit, catalyzes his recognition of how thoroughly power has corrupted him. In a climactic act, he destroys the machine, ensuring his son cannot inherit its secrets.

Cast & Character Dynamics

Emil Jannings anchors the film as Robert Herne, portraying a man's transformation from ordinary laborer to corrupt dictator across a twenty-year span. John Gottowt plays the enigmatic Algol, the extraterrestrial whose motivations remain deliberately ambiguous as he bestows the energy-producing machine. The supporting ensemble deepens the moral landscape: Hanna Ralph as Maria Obal, Herne's pre-encounter friend whose influence ultimately jolts him toward self-awareness; Ernst Hofmann as Reginald, the son whose ambition for power leads him to plot a coup; and Hans Adalbert Schlettow as Peter Hell, Maria's son who travels to seek help for his coal-depleted country. Käthe Haack portrays Magda, Herne's daughter, who, upon witnessing her father's refusal to assist Peter, recognizes the depth of his corruption and departs with him. Additional roles include Erna Morena as Yella Ward, Gertrude Welcker as Leonore Nissen, and Sebastian Droste as a dancer.

Production & Aesthetic Context

Directed by Hans Werckmeister, Algol was produced by the Deutsche Lichtbild-Gesellschaft in Berlin and distributed internationally by Universum Film AG (UFA). The film premiered on 3 September 1920 in Berlin before receiving a worldwide release, including a Finnish launch on 7 November 1921. A notable production detail is the set design by Walter Reimann, who had also designed sets for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, released just months earlier in February 1920. This connection situates Algol firmly within the visual language of early Weimar Expressionism. The cinematography was handled by Graakjaer. The film's place in the broader landscape of 1920s science fiction cinema is acknowledged in reference works such as David Wingrove's Science Fiction Film Source Book and Francis Courtade's Cinéma Expressionniste, while Patrick Conley's 1989 Bildprotokoll provides a detailed German-language frame-by-frame documentation of the film.

Reception & Rediscovery

Contemporary reviewers responded to Algol with a mixture of admiration and criticism. They singled out Reimann's set design and Graakjaer's cinematography for particular praise, yet found the overall film an unsettling blend of realism and fantasy. Critics noted that the fantastical elements felt grounded and material rather than emerging from genuine unreality, a quality they attributed to what they perceived as a haphazard sequence of scenes stemming from weak direction. The narrative was faulted for a lack of internal logic, though reviewers conceded it contained moments of poetic interest. For decades afterward, Algol was classified as a lost film. That status changed when an intact copy was recovered, and the film received a significant institutional screening at The Museum of Modern Art on November 29, 2010, as part of their exhibition Weimar Cinema, 1919–1933: Daydreams and Nightmares. The rediscovery placed Algol on the list of notable rediscovered films in cinema history.