last days of magic

mary kid painted as a skeleton for her role in die tochter des kunstreiters by fritz kamper & director siegfried philippi, ca. 1927

lon chaney, the man of a thousand faces, ca. 1920s

darryl hannah as "pris" & harrison ford as "deckard" in blade runner directed by ridley scott, 1982

on the set of metropolis directed by fritz lang, 1927

kay johnson in madam satan directed by cecil b. demille, 1930

vampyr, the dream of allan grey, directed by carl theodor dreyer, 1932

jean marais as la bête in la belle et la bête directed by jean cocteau, 1946

musidora as irma vep in les vampires directed by louis feuillade, 1915

maria falconetti as jeanne d'arc in the passion of joan of arc directed by carl theodor dreyer, 1928

brigitte helm behind the scenes on the set of metropolis directed by fritz lang, 1927

charlie chaplin in modern times directed by charlie chaplin, 1936

buster keaton dressed as a clown next to his make-up box (with picture of lon chaney), ca. 1930s

maria casarès in orphée directed by jean cocteau, 1950

max schreck as graf orlok/nosferatu directed by f.w. murnau, 1922

alla nazimova in salomé directed by charles bryant, 1923

gone but not forgotten - brigitte helm

maria!

brigitte helm was born brigitte eva gisela schittenhelm in berlin in either 1906 or 1908. she was not even 18 when she was discovered by fritz lang for the dual lead in metropolis in 1927. she became a star overnight and went on to make over 30 films including a transition to sound films. in 1935, angered by nazi control over the film industry, she retired. she would marry her second husband, dr. hugo kunheim that same year & they would raise four children together in switzerland. in 1968 she received the filmband in gold for "continued outstanding individual contributions to german film over the years". she refused to appear in any films nor even grant interviews about her career but she would always sign autographs for her fans. she reportedly turned down roles in the blue angel (which went to marlene dietrich) and the bride of frankenstein (else lanchester). she died in 1996 in switzerland.