In 1919 Richard Oswald shot one of the first anthology films in cinema history, Unheimliche Geschichten. It opened in theaters with the alternative title Grausige nächte. After being examined by censors, the film measured 2,318 meters, and it was presented with a special screening on November 6, 1919. The original negative is to be considered lost. The film was restored by working with a nitrate print from the Cinémathèque Française. The print made measures 2,230 meters, and the missing intertitles were reintegrated. Anita Berber performs in all episodes of the film except for Der Selbtmörderclub (The Suicide Club). The story begins at night in an antiques store where the main characters appear in portraits that then come to life. Reinhold Schünzel plays the devil, Conrad Veidt death, and Anita a prostitute. In the Kurt Liebmann episode, Die Hand, Anita Berber dressed as Pierrot shows off her art in a lascivious dance. In the other episodes, Die Schwarze Katze based on Edgar Allan Poe, Die Erscheinung, an adaptation of Anselma Heine, and Richard Oswald’s Der Spuk, she performs as an actress and not a dancer.

Lothar Fischer