The Indian Tomb

THE INDIAN TOMB ranks without doubt among the masterpieces of German silent cinema. With a screenplay by Thea von Harbou and Fritz Lang the film – presented in two parts – sees Conrad Veidt as Ayan III, a controlling Bengal Maharajah who forcefully commissions a famed architect to build a majestic mausoleum in honour of his beloved wife. However, terror ensues when said architect discovers that the Princess is very much still alive and Ayan intends to ‘imprison’ her in the tomb to take revenge for her infidelity…

The 2K restored epic, based on von Harbou’s 1918 novel ‘Das indische Grabmal’ (‘The Indian Tomb’) is comprised of two parts: ‘The Mission of the Yogi’ followed by ‘The Tiger of Bengal’ also known as ‘The Tiger of Eschnapur’. This 1921 version was remade two more times (albeit with significant changes to the original script), first in 1938 directed by Richard Eichberg and then in 1959 directed by Fritz Lang, who had already worked on the 1921 script with his partner (later his wife) Thea von Harbou.
However, it is the lesser-known 1921 silent film version which finally receives its much deserved praise with this superb 100th Anniversary Edition (presented as a 2-Disc Blu-ray set) courtesy of Eureka.

PART 1 – ‘The Mission of the Yogi’:
In a lengthy, dreamlike prologue scene we witness Ayan – Maharajah of Bengal (Conrad Veidt) overseeing a specific excavation though we’re not talking ancient treasures but the remains of a mummified Yogi by the name of Ramigani (Bernhard Goetzke), rumoured to possess magical powers. After a transfer from the grave to a secret chamber in Ayan’s magnificent palace the Rami is brought back to life by means of necromancy and with his magical powers restored, Rami is then given the task of travelling to England and commissioning respected architect Herbert Rowland (Olaf Fønss) to return to Eschnapur, India, in order to design the most spectacular mausoleum the world has ever seen – a tomb that is meant to be a testimony of the everlasting love which Ayan III has for his wife, Princess Savitri (Erna Morena). The payout, it goes without saying, will be more than generous though of course there are strings attached: architect Rowland must travel without even as much as mentioning his whereabouts to his fiancée Irene Amundsen (Mia May) or indeed any of his friends or family, neither is he allowed to leave India until the tomb is completed. This, the mysterious Rami explains, needs to be done so that Rowland can immerse himself completely in Indian culture and free himself from any Western influences. Naturally, the architect declines the offer but the Rami uses his magical powers and all sorts of foul trickery to lure Rowland onto the private ship ‘The Eschnapur’ and it’s off to sunny India where an (initially) warm welcome awaits the guest. Meanwhile, Irene is worried over the sudden disappearance of her fiancé and finds it very odd that he would not have left as much as a note. He has but the Magi ensured it never got to her. Taking matters into her own hands Irene soon discovers the whereabouts of her fiancé and several weeks later she too arrives at the palace, much to the chagrin of Ayan who accepts her as a guest but refuses to let her see the architect.

In a subplot and flashback sequences we learn of Princess Savitri’s secret affair with MacAllan (Paul Richter), a dashing English officer stationed in India. Her loyal servant girl Mirrjha (Lya De Putti) serves as a go-between and also looks after the wellbeing of the increasingly frustrated Irene. Things soon get a lot more frustrating if not altogether distressing when it transpires that the planned mausoleum is meant to be for Princess Savitri whom Ayan wants to imprison alive to take his revenge on her for betraying him with MacAllan – a former friend of his nonetheless. Ayan’s henchmen are sent to hunt him down and bring him to the palace for Ayan has a special ‘treatment’ in store for the officer. Upon learning of all these dramatic developments, Rowland refuses to build the mausoleum but Ayan won’t shy away from applying the most horrendous methods to get his wicked way…

PART 2 – ‘The Tiger of Eschnapur’:
With Irene practically held a prisoner, Rowland still has no idea that his betrothed is in the palace – every time Irene attempts to get close to him the frightful Rami intervenes. At the same time, Princess Savitri is worried that the Maharajah will try everything in his power to destroy MacAllan and counts on Mirrjha to ask Irene for help. When Rowland finally realises his fiancée is in the palace his joy is short-lived: during his search for her Rowland encounters a secret cave in which a group of male penitents are made to atone for their sins under torture – when he accidentally steps onto the head of one penitent buried alive in the sand the unfortunate victim curses him with leprosy and sure enough, soon after the architect falls ill with the dreaded disease and is doomed to live out his days among the other lepers in the little leper colony outside the palace walls. However! Ayan is hell-bent on the tomb being built and asks Yogi Rami to lift the curse. Increasingly brutal, Ayan takes great pleasure in the horrific demise of MacAllan who has been captured after a shootout in the jungle and brought to the palace. Horrified by the poor man’s violent end in the Maharajah’s private tiger enclave both Rowland and Irene realise that unless they flee the palace they too will not escape alive. An elaborate plan is hatched and they are determined to take the Princess with them but how to shake off Ayan’s henchmen?
The final half hour is action-packed culminating in pathos and raw emotion, as only an actor of Conrad Veidt’s calibre was capable to transmit.

Although certain aspects of the plot appear to be flawed and some of the physical movements (in particular the prologue sequence) appear to be unnaturally slow-paced THE INDIAN TOMB makes for an intensely acted exotic adventure yarn – shot entirely in a film studio in Woltersdorf (20 miles east of Berlin) and one of the most expensive productions in German cinema history. Mia May, who plays Irene Amundsen, was the wife of director Joe May and already 37 years old at the time of filming which made her look too old for the part – not helped by a slight weight problem. Bernhard Goetzke gives a memorable performance as the Yogi Rami.

The Blu-ray release furthermore contains some Bonus Features including optional English subtitles, a musical score by Irena and Vojtech Havel, a brand-new video essay by David Cairns and Fiona Watson plus a collector’s booklet.