L'expressionnisme allemand
Alfred Abel 
Giuseppe Becce
Lil Dagover
Hans Ehrenbaum-Degele
Hermann WarmAlfred Abel | Acteur 1879–1937
Alfred Abel worked on small town stages until he transferred to the Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 1904. He became a theater star and was regarded one of the most elegant men in the city. Abel's acting was characterized by refined nuances and reserve, such as in the role of the dreamy town clerk Lubota in Murnau's film PHANTOM (1922). His most successful role was as John Fredersen, the arrogant master in METROPOLIS (1925–27, Fritz Lang). Aside from acting, Abel also directed four films.
Giuseppe Becce | Compositeur 1877–1973
Giuseppe Becce went to Berlin around 1900 as a geography student. He ended up studying music there and debuted in 1910 as a composer of operas and operettas. Through film producer Oskar Messter Becce made his first contacts in film. He played the title role in the 1913 Messter production of RICHARD WAGNER and composed the film music. That marked the beginning of Becce's career as a film composer. Becce wrote original compositions for the two Murnau films DER LETZTE MANN (THE LAST LAUGH, 1924) and TARTUFFE (1925).
Lil Dagover | Actrice 1887–1980
Lil Dagover first appeared on the movie screen in 1913. Without ever having attended acting school, she was given the lead in Fritz Lang's film HARAKIRI (1919). She acquired fame in the role of Jane in THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919, Robert Wiene). F. W. Murnau cast her alongside Emil Jannings and Werner Krauss in TARTUFFE (1925). Dagover published her autobiography Ich war die Dame (I was the lady) in 1979.
Hans Ehrenbaum-Degele | Ecrivain 1889–1915
Hans Ehrenbaum-Degele studied together with Murnau in Berlin and Heidelberg. They shared an intense and inspirational friendship. Ehrenbaum-Degele's early poems were published in 1911. Together with Ludwig Meidner and Paul Zech, Ehrenbaum-Degele published the journal Das neue Pathos (The New Pathos) starting in 1913. His poetry focussed on the big city and the experience of war. Ehrenbaum-Degele was killed on the Russian front in 1915. A book of his poetry was published by the Insel Verlag in 1919 on Murnau's initiative.
Hermann Warm | Designer de Production 1889–1976
Hermann Warm worked for a number of theaters in Germany after completing his training as a theatrical painter. One of his achievements was as part of the art direction team for the film THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919, Robert Wiene). He designed sets for Murnau's PHANTOM (1922), including the street of shadows in the "tottering day" sequence. Hermann Warm was one of the first to speak out for the establishment of the new profession of film production designer. After the war he continued to work only sporadically as a production designer.
