Die Teufelsanbeter (The Devil Worshippers)
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The first of three films based on the desert adventure novels of Karl May filmed by Ustad, but the third to be released, starring Carl de Vogt. Subtitled, “A film from the Orient in six chapters,” and set in the remote mountains of the Kurds, the film was a typical Karl May tale of high adventure featuring strange exotic rituals and human sacrifices. Upon its release, it was a commercial failure. Originally containing tinted scenes, the film is now considered lost.
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Production company: Ustad
Producer: Ertugrul Moussin-Bey
Director: Marie Luise Droop
Based on a chapter from the novel Durch die Wüste (Through the Desert) by Karl May
Said to have premiered on January 2 1921 at Vaters Lichtspiele in Wurzburg, the first documented screening took place on January 24 1921 in Wilhelmsburg.
Cast:
Carl de Vogt: Kara Ben Nemsi
Béla Lugosi
Meinhart Maur: Hadschi Halef Omar
Ilja Dubrowski
Tronier Funder: Officer of the Sultan
The Bela Lugosi Blog 