Available to stream from 12 to 14 August 2024 at https://stummfilmtage.culturebase.org

A man commits suicide in the flat of an old cathedral organist in Prague. An insidious neighbour, having witnessed the incident, persuades the organist to bury the body in his cellar and then blackmails him. Later, the daughter of the deceased moves in with the organist, but she is completely unaware of the dead body in his cellar... The famous singer Karel Hašler plays the title role in this atmospheric Grand Guignol style drama. The female lead, Suzanne Marwille, is widely regarded as the first Czech female film star and was also active behind the camera as a screenwriter.

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The simple, taciturn script of THE ORGANIST ATST VITUS CATHEDRAL effectively served as pretext for capturing the beauty of Old Prague and the Lesser Town, whose rooftops and winding streets are filmed innaturally lit panoramic cityscapes set in contrast with the nighttime shots of bustling avenues and chiaroscuro interiors, where the film’s inspiration from German Expressionism comes to the fore. Note the cinematographer Jaroslav Blažek’s striking closeups on the faces of Klara and the organist, and numerous kaleidoscopic shots created with the use of long dissolves, such as one where Klara’s face is overlaid with the spinning patterns of metal bars in a piercing representation of a young nun’s yearning for a new life outside the convent.

The titular organist is played by the legendary Czech songwriter, actor, and director Karel Hašler. A man of many talents, Hašler was a playwright and theatre actor before World War I, at one point managing notable Prague cabarets such as Lucerna and Rokoko. Shortly after THE ORGANIST, with the arrival of sound film, Hašler put his songwriting and singing skills to use in cinema. In 1941, he was arrested by the Gestapo because of his patriotic songs, and subsequently sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp, where he died that same year.

Ilia Ryzhenko, Hippodrome Silent Film Festival, Bo’ness 2024

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