ALRAUNE
FRG 1952. D: Arthur Maria Rabenalt. Cast: Hildegard Knef, Erich von Stroheim, Karlheinz Böhm. 92 mins.
The scientist ten Brinken succeeds in artificially inseminating a prostitute with the semen of a murderer. Thus Alraune sees the light of day – a beguiling woman of destructive callousness who ruins all the men who get too close to her until she falls in love with Frank, ten Brinken’s nephew.
The remake of the 1911 novel Alraune. The Story of a Living Being by Hanns Heinz Ewers is thoroughly impressive in its somber visuals. Erich von Stroheim as the physician and Hildegard Knef as the seductive title character make an excellent leading duo, alongside whom Karlheinz Böhm as Frank could prove himself in his first leading role.
