Woman in the Moon (Frau im Mond)

The restoration of frau im mond was carried out in 2000

by the fried rich Wilhelm murnau foundation in Wiesbaden,

based on the camera negative from the bundesarchiv-filmarchiv in Berlin.

The inter titles were taken from the negatives.

The comparison and copying was carried out by I'immagine ritrovata in Bologna.

The master negative of this edit was used for the 2k digital version.

Woman in the moon.

This film is the result of collaboration by:

And the cast:

Scenario: Thea Von harbou

direction: Fritz lang

photography:

Cast:

Prof. Georg manfeldt: Klaus pohl

wolf helius: Willy fritsch

engineer hans windegger: Gustav Von wangenheim

astro student friede velten: Gerda maurus

Gustav: Gustl stark-gstettenbaur

the man who presently goes by Walter Turner: Fritz rasp

five brains and chequebooks:

The man at the microphone: Karl platen

the mouse: Josephine

artistic collaborators:

Scientific collaborator: Prof. Hermann oberth

head of production: Eduard kubat

the novel woman in the moon by thea Von harbou

is published by August scherl

for the human mind, there is no never, — only a not yet.

Georg manfeldt, Ph.D. professor of astronomy.

You should have let that skunk break his neck, helius —!

For thirty years I live like a dog for the sake of my ideas...

And then comes this louse-fellow speculating on my misery,

and wants to buy my manuscript from me as a curiosity —!

I'd like to have dinner with you, professor — can you spare some bread?

I found this in my coat when you left the other day...

Buy yourself some bread with it, mr helius —!

Spare me having to take handouts from my only friend, helius...

If you don't join me, professor, I won't be able to enjoy it!

Fool or swindler?

Thursday, 17 August, 1896.

Hypothetical a ccount of the gold content

in the mountains of the moon.

I maintain, after many years of comparative analyses,

that primitive moon-rock contains more gold than the earth's mountains.

One day, the first spaceship will fly to the moon,

to bring its gold back to the earth!

Laughter, gentlemen, is the argument of idiots

against every new idea — I!

The progress of the world will not fail

due to learned ignoramuses lacking in fantasy

whose brains work in inverse proportion to their calcification — ll!

Professor — I've decided to go...

But not without me, helius — Not without me — I!

Now your idea will triumph after all, professor...

Naturally windegger will go along?

What —? Windegger won't —? Your collaborator and best friend?

Friede velten, student of astronomy,

and hans windegger, chief engineer of helius hangars are engaged.

Dear friede! Best wishes to you and hans!

Don't be upset that I can't come tonight to your engagement party!

Yours, wolf helius.

He doesn't even know anything about my decision...

No-one does — except for you...

I tell you, helius, more people than you and I know of your plan...

And the fellow whom I threw down the stairs before is one of them —!

Three nights ago...

So you think someone knows of my plans

and is thus also interested in your moon-gold theory...?

Helius, don't be angry — It's my life's work — go home...

I can't rest until I know the manuscript is in your safe!

Dear helius! I write to you in incomparable bliss

and you should be the first to know that friede has agreed to be my wife.

Perhaps I took her a bit by surprise, but she said yes!

Come tonight to the engagement party at friede's apartment!

I am ridiculously happy! Windegger.

Fresh violets, sir?

Wolf helius, bergstr. 86-3 to be delivered in person

mr helius isn't home...

Please... let me wait for mr helius anyway. Mr windegger sent me...

To be delivered in person.

Dear helius! Accept this poor soul, if you can, and give him work

and a chance to make a life — He won't disappoint you.

Warmest regards, windegger.

Drive to the nearest police station...

Don't hold things up with long explanations...

Just bring some sort of officer here to me!

Il/I/ngo: Nick Carter of the 5/( Y

saturn-pirates

the thieves ' craft approaches unlucky saturn — I.

God in heaven; You must have some idea when you last phoned —!

Did you leave the flat unattended —?

Only for a moment, when Gustav came to get me...

But then there was that man whom mr windegger had sent —!

Would you allow me to use your telephone?

My phone isn't working...

Christ, madame — Someone has to pick up...

There's at least half a dozen people sitting around that phone —!

I'm only the foreman of helius hangars...

But if you keep working like this,

you, miss friede, will soon be the forewoman of us all!

I was supposed to have sent you

somebody with a letter of recommendation —?!

I'm begging you, hans, get over here...

I can't tell you over the telephone what this is all about...

Just, please, come...

You can be assured, hans, that I would not call you away

from your engagement party if it weren't absolutely necessary...

We'll be there right away, helius!

Allow me to introduce myself —: Turner...

If you go flying down those steps again, mr Turner,

I won't be standing at the bottom to catch you...

Believe me, mr helius, there's no wiser way to pass the time

till the arrival of ms velten and mr windegger

than to have a chat with me...

First, a small request...

Tell your chauffeur it's no longer necessary to inform the police...

The police have already been informed, mr Turner...

Just a measure of caution, mr helius, — as well as this...

Also a measure of caution, mr Turner?

I now grasp the phenomenon, mr Turner,

how you haven't been whiling away in prison all this time —!

You do flatter, mr helius!

Perhaps you can also reveal to me, mr Turner,

where the stolen manuscript...

And the contents missing from my safe are located —?!

Five of the wealthiest and cleverest minds

who wish to keep the earth's gold reserve under their control...

One of the most interesting documents, madame and sirs...

To prove the accessibility of the moon,

helius sent the unmanned trial rocket h.32,

filled with magnesium, moonward — The explosion of which,

upon impact, was viewed and photographed from the earth!

Thanks to the competence of our representative

I can show you something completely different...

Things that helius himself has thus far not made available

to the scientific community!

Cinematographic images of the surface of the moon

by h.32 during its first orbit of the moon.

The unmanned register-rocket h.32,

equipped with automatic imaging-instruments.

The rocket-jet.

In its nose-cone...

Is located the egg-shaped register-chamber

with the automated imaging-instruments.

The imaging-instrument, linked to a clockwork.

The mirror tele-objective.

Schematic depiction of the h.32's trajectory.

Earth... 384, 000km... /i/ioon.

Gra vita tional field of the earth

gra vita tional field of the moon

zero-9 zone

trajectory of h. 32.

Necessary starting speed 11,200 metres per second.

First image of the moon, 36 hours after liftoff;

distance of the rocket from the moon: Approx. 40,000 km.

At an altitude of approx. 1000 km

h.32 flies over the moon crater eratosthenes...

In its depths the astronomer w. H. Pickering,

director of mandeville observatory, Jamaica,

believes to have observed swarms of insects.

The objective's eye sees what no man's eye has ever seen:

The opposite side of the moon turned away from the earth.

Cryptic, monochrome planes of colossal dimensions...

Vegetation? Fog? Water?

All seem to confirm the theory of prof. Peter Andreas Hansen

of the seeberg observatory near got ha...

That on the opposite side of the moon

exists an atmosphere and, therefore, life.

Why lose more time?

I for one want the moon's riches of gold,

should they actually prove to exist, to fall into the hands

of businessmen and not visionaries and idealists!

At this moment our representative is making

mr helius aware of our intentions

in a very concrete manner...

You have only two choices, mr helius:

Either make the trip to the moon in our employ...

Or not at all...

If we don't come to an agreement, mr helius,

five minutes after my departure,

your hangar, along with the nearly completed spaceship,

will be reduced to a heap of rubble...

What would you gain, by killing me off, mr helius?

At the most, a travel companion who is less considerate!

You still don't get the picture, mr helius...

We'd rather annihilate all of your plans

than let you shut us out of the operation...

Tell your clients, mr Turner, that I do not aim

to found upon the moon a criminal colony...

Give me 24 hours to think it over...

Will your... plans be seriously affected by the theft, helius?

Don't worry about the plans —! I have duplicates

of everything, safe in my desk's secret compartment!

Hans dear, if I were you, I wouldn't be so sure about that!

Why did you conceal from us, helius, the fact that you now

actually want to take on the voyage to the moon?

You've called me your good comrade so often at work...

In the laboratory — In this very room...

Now you want to lie to me, helius?

I didn't mean to lie to you, friede...