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The Golem: How He Came into the World

Original title: Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam / The Golem
1920 · 1 h 31 min
Directed by Paul Wegener
FantasyHorror

Cast

Paul Wegener Albert Steinrück Lyda Salmonova

Plot

In sixteenth-century Prague, the Emperor decrees that the Jews must leave the ghetto. Rabbi Loew, using magic, brings a giant clay figure to life to protect his people. The Golem wins the Emperor's favour, but later rebels, and a child's innocence is needed to stop it. Paul Wegener, who co-directed and played the title role, made three films about the legend, and this 1920 version is the best known. Its sets of crooked rooftops and its brooding atmosphere influenced the Hollywood monster films that followed.

Sinekatalog’s take

Paul Wegener's silent fantasy brings a clay giant to life in medieval Prague. With its expressionist sets and brooding atmosphere, it influenced Frankenstein and remains a landmark of early horror.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

Ratings

IMDb: 7.2 / 10 (9,672 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

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