Review for Frau Im Mond

It’s pretty unbelievable that this 1928 movie was so uncannily accurate in most aspects of space travel, despite the fact that it would be almost 40 years before man would finally put a foot on the moon’s surface.

Following hot on the heels of his blockbusting futuristic vision, ‘Metropolis’(1927), ‘Frau Im Mond’ was yet another big budget affair, despite the fact the studio funding it was nearing bankruptcy. It was in the midst of serious economic recession that the film was made and it was to be Fritz Lang’s last silent picture.


It was a film that was much hyped prior to release as being a scientifically accurate portrayal of man’s inevitable escape into space, something that would be an uplifting prospect in a financially ruined Germany of the time.


Overly long (at nearly three hours) it actually feels more like two films joined together at the hip, the first half focusing on a plot to steal an impoverished professor’s plans for moon travel with the notion that the moon might be filled with precious gold.


Professor Mannfeldt (Pohl) is utterly ridiculed by his peers for this hair-brained notion but there are some who believe the old man. Helius is among them though, as an independently wealthy man, he is less interested in the gold than in the prospects of space travel itself and he befriends the impoverished Professor, bringing him food and wine and doing what he can to cheer the disenchanted genius.


However, Helius’s home is ransacked by the henchmen of an evil American businessman called Walter Turner. He convinces Helius and he Professor to take him with them on a planned trip or he will ruin their rocket and destroy the captured plans. He is a classic Lang villain, frightening to the eye and almost other worldly. He will also make the necessary investments to build and fuel the rocket. With little choice, they reluctantly comply.
The massive rocket is finally built and Mannfeldt, Turner, Helius and his assistant Windegger (von Wangenheim) and partner Friede (Maurus) make up the crew – with one or two unexpected last minute additions.


A sub-plot of the bitter love triangle between Helius and Freide. Friede has had his proposal for marriage accepted by the lady they both love, played by Gerda Maurus (previously in Lang’s Spione_ she boards the rocket as the only female traveler (hence the film’s title). The consequences of this are played out in space.
There are some great touches in the film including the vast rocket bay, the rocket itself and neat details like foot straps to prevent the occupants floating around inside the capsule. The special effects are incredible given that this was made 85 years ago – a sobering thought that no one involved in any aspect of its production is alive today.


The lift-off sequence is incredibly good given the lack of resource and the jettisoning of part of the rocket once they were out of the earth’s gravitational pull turned out to be very accurate indeed.
Less accurate perhaps was the notion that the moon’s atmosphere was breathable and that it would prove to be filled with gold and precious metals – minor details perhaps given how much was predicted with accuracy.


The gold was necessary in a way in that it drives the narrative, greed giving way to good sense and causing the group to become broken.


The picture quality is remarkably good on the DVD check-disc I had so I can only assume that the Blu-Ray must be even better! There is remarkably little wear and tear and apparently this is the most complete version yet with parts of various prints being utilised into a ‘best of’ whole.


One slight gripe I had was the positioning of the English subs, often over the original German intertitles rendering them incomprehensible at times. This could have been so easily avoided with even a modicum of common sense from the post-production house responsible and must have been a great disappointment to all at Eureka when it was turned up that way. Oh well.


The set comes with a very informative 36pp booklet and a 15 minute documentary which is really informative giving some historic background. It’s notable that Lang had hoped to launch a real rocket the day the film premiered though this was deemed an expense too far so a smaller one was eventually used to this end.



All in all, despite an overly long introductory narrative (it’s 90 minutes before we see the rocket launched) and the dopey subtitles, this is a very welcome release and if the DVD looks this good, the Blu-Ray must look even better.