Der Januskopf (1920)

The Head of Janus

The film was an unauthorized adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but the source material went unrecognized by some of the German media due to changes in the characters' names. Released in 1920, this is one of Murnau's lost films. While the film itself does not survive, the scripts and related production notes do. Because the film is lost, its full length is unknown. Dr. Warren is the Dr. Jekyll character who changes into Mr. O'Connor, a parallel of Mr. Hyde. This transformation is brought about, not by experimentation with chemicals as in Stevenson's original, but through the supernatural agency of a bust of Janus (the Roman god of duality), which Warren purchases in the opening sequence as a gift for his sweetheart, Jane. When she refuses the gift, horrified, Warren is forced to keep the statuette himself.

Der Januskopf

Casting arrow_drop_down

Conrad Veidt
Conrad Veidt
as Dr. Warren
Magnus Stifter
Magnus Stifter
as Warrens Freund
Margarete Schlegel
Margarete Schlegel
as Grace
Willy Kaiser-Heyl
Willy Kaiser-Heyl
as o. A.
Bela Lugosi
Bela Lugosi
as Warren's Butler
Margarete Kupfer
Margarete Kupfer
as o. A.
Danny Guertler
Danny Guertler
as o. A.
Gustav Botz
Gustav Botz
as o. A.
Jaro Fürth
Jaro Fürth
as o. A.
Hans Lanser-Rudolf
Hans Lanser-Rudolf
as o. A.
Marga Reuter
Marga Reuter
as o. A.
Lanja Rudolph
Lanja Rudolph
as o. A.

Crew arrow_drop_down

Hans Janowitz
Hans Janowitz
Screenplay
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Novel
Erich Pommer
Erich Pommer
Producer
Carl Weiss
Carl Weiss
Director of Photography
Carl Hoffmann
Carl Hoffmann
Director of Photography
Karl Freund
Karl Freund
Director of Photography
F. W. Murnau
F. W. Murnau
Director
Heinrich Richter
Heinrich Richter
Set Designer

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