The Student of Prague

Paul Wegener was a German actor, writer and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema. At the age of 20 Wegener decided to end his law studies and concentrate on acting, touring the provinces before joining Max Reinhardt's acting troupe in 1906. In 1912, he turned... to the new medium of motion pictures and appeared in the 1913 version of The Student of Prague. It was while making this film that he first heard the old Jewish legend of the Golem and proceeded to adapt the story to film, co-directing and co-writing the script with Henrik Galeen. His first version of the tale The Golem was a success and firmly established Wegener's reputation. In 1917, he made a parody of the story called Der Golem und die Tänzerin, but it was his reworking of the tale, The Golem: How He Came into the World which stands as one of the classics of German cinema and helped to cement Wegener's place in cinematic history.
more

Stellan Rye was a Danish-born film director, active in the early 20th century. Rye was born in Randers. In 1913 he created the silent film Der Student von Prag . At the outbreak of World War I he joined the Reichsheer . He died in France, a prisoner of war.