From Caligari to Hitler: German Cinema in the Weimar Era

For the next three Wednesdays, TCM will be looking at the topic of cinema in Weimar-era Germany, which is roughly the 15 years before the rise to power of Adolf Hitler. The title is taken more or less from a 2014 German documentary on the subject, which as I understand it is based on a German book that came out decades ago, not long after the end of World War II. I'm not certain if anybody will be sitting down with Ben Mankiewicz to discuss the subject and the movies. I can't see why not, but then when I looked at the TCM article on the series, I didn't notice anything that implied there would be a guest. Of course, the article on this month's spotlight about the Barrymores didn't say anything about the author who would be sitting down with Ben.

Anyhow, tonight's lineup starts off with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the early expressionist masterpiece. I have to admit I don't think I've watched this one since one of my German courses in college. Since there were intertitles and not dialogue there was no problem following the German. The documentary that I mentioned above will follow at 9:30 PM.