Klein-Rogge in the role of the Master of the Mountain
REVISED SYNOPSIS: 07/28/04.
I have finally tracked down a copy of this elusive film that has English intertitles. Keep in mind that this is a British version, and that the original German version may be slightly different. Now I can give you the whole plot line, from start to finish, of this rare film. This may get lengthy, but it will be worth it because this will be the ONLY detailed synopsis you will ever find for this title. I will have to put descriptions for the characters, as only Rudolf's character has a name of sorts. He will hereafter be referred to as The Rider.
This Caligari-esque expressionist work starts out with a party in the valley over which "The Stone Rider" once ruled. The people dance and sing, but an old man just shakes his head at the goings on, saying that there was once a time when there was not so much happiness in the valley...when HE was still alive. The old man then proceeds in song to tell of the wicked ruler that used to live on the mountain they now stand at the foot of, on whose top there stands a strange, unnatural-looking rock formation: It is shaped like a man and woman mounted on a rearing steed...
We soon see the stone head of the rider of the formation dissolve into that of Klein-Rogge, with long wild hair and darkly-colored attire. Atop his black horse, he waits at the entrance of a castle, which is on a high mountain. He raises his whip and shouts at the guards to be let in. He and his followers then ride through the open gates.
Down in the valley below the mountain there is a village, but it is an oppressed village. The people greatly fear their master, The Rider, who always terrorizes the town at every chance he gets.
On the hillside overlooking the small village, a young woman, who is a shepherdess, (Lucie Mannheim) is talking with her fiance' (Gustav von Wangenheim). He asks that she come down into the village to attend the marriage of her sister. The woman says she will not come down, as she knows this wedding will end up the same as all others have before - in sadness. He asks again. Her answer stays the same.
In the castle on the mountain, The Rider sits at a table with one of his low-life friends, having a few drinks on the side. The friend goes so far as to ask if he has been terribly lonely up in his rocky fortress. The Rider is not very talkative and just drinks his fill. Soon, a peasant asks for an audience with The Rider's friend, who is also a lord over a village. The peasant is told to come in and his master has mercy on him, telling the man to pay his tithes in the coming year instead. The Rider just laughs evilly at this scene, saying that he would like to see one of his peasants try to ask for mercy. When asked why he acts the way he does towards the peasant, The Rider exclaims "If they persist in looking upon me as a devil, I shall act as one!"
At the village, the new bride is being prepared for her big day, but she does not look happy, for she knows there is a chance that The Rider will come after her this day. Everyone including her waiting groom tries to assure that such a thing will not happen. The wedding begins and all of the villagers partake in the festivities, not knowing what is about to occur.
Back at the castle, in a sort of a drunken stupor, The Rider is alerted by one of his men that there is a wedding going on in the village. Infuriated, The Rider shoves his servant out of his way, overturns the table in front of him, and storms out of the castle. He runs outside and mounts his black horse, and along with two other henchman, he races down to the village to stir up some trouble.
On her hillside spot, the shepherdess watches the wedding feast from afar. Although while watching the festivities, her eye wanders over to see The Rider and two of his followers heading straight for the village!
Soon a dark and threatening shadow looms over the village, causing every peasant to freeze with fear. They see he whom they dread most standing on top of a hill, his black cape billowing in the wind. The Rider and his men gallop down to the village. Once off his horse, he scowls at his villagers and laughs as they cower before him. The shepherdess' fiance' tries to stand up to him, but he shoves the young man out of his way. With the most wicked grin, The Rider then makes it clear that he wishes to have a dance with the new bride. This is completely unacceptable, but he grabs her by force and makes her dance with him regardless of the protests. The groom is outraged, and when The Rider goes so far as to steal a kiss from the bride, the groom then lunges forward with knife in hand. The Rider releases the girl's lips just in time to see that he is about to be stabbed in the back. He shoves her aside to defend himself, but inadvertently throws her into the knife's path, causing her to die in his place. Both the groom and Rider are stunned, though after a short moment The Rider throws his head back and cackles insanely. He then leaves as one whose fun has just been ruined, although not far up the mountain, while heading toward his home, he pauses for a few minutes to reflect on what he has caused, a guilty expression on his face...
Back at the village all are grieving this tragedy, and the shepherdess herself finally comes down to see her sister on her deathbed. After a while, the shepherdess walks over and takes the knife from the groom's clenched hand, showing that she does not blame him for what happened. When everyone in the room leaves to give her private time with her sister, the woman vows revenge on the one who did this.
In The Rider's stony fortress, many of his friends are partying and drinking in his main hall, laughing at the mayhem the wild-hearted rider has caused in the village. Soon he comes in, defeated and weary in step. His presence silences the room. They make way and he sits down at his seat at the dinner table. No one can understand why he looks so depressed. They offer him a drink, which he takes after much reluctance.
Back at the village, the shepherdess walks out of the house in an almost hypnotic state, going right past her fiance' without a word spoken between them. He sees the knife in her hand, and then decides to follow her. She walks straight out into the night and, against her fiance's warning, goes up the mountain to kill their lord and master. The young man, afraid of what will happen to her, runs back to tell the villagers that she has gone up the mountain.
At the fortress, The Rider's friends are drinking heavily and partying once again, but he keeps his eyes lowered and does not seem to notice the noise around him. One of the men makes a joke of the tragedy that had taken place, saying "Now the peasants really will take you for the devil in person!"
A slight smirk on his face, The Rider then roars with laughter, causing everyone else in the room to laugh along with him. But he soon stops laughing, and glares at the man across the table who had made that remark. He picks up his own cup and hurls his drink at the man, hitting him in the head. He orders the trouble-maker to leave, and then later orders everyone else to leave. While the rest file out of the room, he goes to stand by a large window.
Outside, the shepherdess walks up the mountain and soon comes to the fortress carved out of the cliff - HIS fortress. She asks to be let in. She then walks unhindered into the castle and through the halls, searching for him at every turn.
Inside, The Rider looks out the window into the night sky. Turning stiffly, he leans his face into his folded arms on the side of the large window.
The woman with revenge on her mind stalks through the cold halls of the castle, and at one time turns and sees her intended victim with his back to her. He is leaning against the wall now, with his face hidden from her. She walks silently towards him, but something stops her for a moment. The Rider, oblivious to the danger behind, weeps bitterly against the stone wall. His face is half hidden by his arm. She hesitates no longer and raises her blade, determined to go through with what she came here for. As she readies herself to kill him, The Rider then buries his face into his folded arm, sobbing loudly. He is terribly sorry for getting an innocent woman killed when HE should have died for the way he had acted, and this makes him cry ever harder. The shepherdess cannot stand the sight of his heaving shoulders, and she finally lowers her weapon. Suddenly, he whirls around and faces her, causing her to jump with a start. She is deathly afraid of him, afraid of what he will do to her. But he is not angry. He lowers his eyes to the floor and submits to her: "Do you want to kill me?"
Without answering, the woman faints in his presence. Before she can fall, he lurches forward and grabs her, holding her to him. While holding her, his eyes fall upon the knife laying on the floor, which she had dropped. He just shakes his head remorsefully, as he knew full well that he deserved such a fate. Turning his attention back to the woman in his arms, his face softens as he watches her come to again. She regains consciousness and stands up, but one look at him and she nearly falls again, her hands clasped together to ask that he show her mercy. But he again helps her stand, running his hand over her hair as he steadies her once again.
On the next morning, The Rider is sitting next to a bed, looking down at his intruder from the night before, who is sleeping. He is visibly smitten by her, and as he watches her sleeping form, he smiles thoughtfully. Rising from his seat, he then goes over to the window again, but stops still when his foot comes down on the discarded knife. He picks it up and glances back at the shepherdess, his mouth twisting into an odd smile. He proceeds to throw the weapon out the window and therefore off the mountain. Soon one of his elderly female servants enters the room, but as she is about to say something he gently hushes her with his finger. He quietly walks to her and tells her something. When she leaves, he in turn goes out into his courtyard, where many of his household servants are tending to chores. To them he announces proudly to bid all of his friends to a wedding feast at his castle.
Inside the castle walls, the shepherdess has awoken and is standing by the nearby window. The Rider approaches her from the far side of the room, but pauses for a minute and smiles at her. She spins around and seems nervous of his presence. He comes closer and extends his hands to her in an unthreatening manner, which she hesitantly takes. He draws her closer, but she refuses to look at him directly. Knowing that she is still undecided about him, he reaches around her and lightly lays his hand on her shoulder. When she turns to him, he offers his hand for her to take. He leads her on to another open window. While they stand here, he puts his arm around her and shows her the courtyard of his castle, and shows her the many servants he has and whom he treats well. She sees that is he actually a kind and gentle man who will treat her well. She soon warms up to him, laying her head against his chest.
Down in the village, the shepherdess' fiance' becomes outraged when one of The Rider's men rides by and taunts him. When the man is gone, the fiance's nearby friends grab him back from going after this mounted menace. He is very much on the edge of revolting against the master, and all of the villagers feel the same way. After all, the girl that had gone up the night before had never returned. What was the master doing to her?
But none of them could have guessed what was really happening in the castle on the mountain. Draped in fineries she had never had before, the shepherdess stands in her room, a servant tending to her. She is being prepared with her wedding gown and not long after she has finished dressing, The Rider bursts excitedly into the room to gaze upon his bride.
Downhill from The Rider's castle, in his own fortress, his closest friend receives his wedding invitation. Hardly able to believe that his lonely friend is finally going to wed, he mounts his horse and readies to ride off to the top of the mountain, to the castle on the peak.
Inside the castle, The Rider smiles at his beloved and with a nod, he dismisses his servant. He wants a few moments alone with the shepherdess. Unable to contain himself, he comes to her and takes her gently by the arms, drawing her close. But she hesitates, clasping her hands in front of her nervously. But he only brings her closer and comforts her with his arm around her. She finally looks at him shyly and accepts his embrace.
Outside, the female servant has gone out to get help in preparing for the upcoming feast. The Rider then comes out himself, and walking down the stairs he speaks upliftingly to the servants of the kindly mistress they will soon have.
The night soon comes and the festivities are getting started in the castle on the mountain's peak. Down in the village, an uprising is in the air...
In his courtyard, The Rider courteously greets every one of his guests, all of his fellow mountain-dwellers who have come to see his big day. Inside the main hall, he is visibly impatient to see his beloved arrive. He does not have to wait long, for soon she enters the room in her white gown. He cannot wait any longer; he runs to her and takes her hand in his. He then proudly introduces her to those gathered as his wife.
Down in the village, the peasants are growing wild with thoughts of revenge against their hated master. They gather around their leader, the shepherdess' fiance', who is the most passionate about storming the castle to rescue the poor girl. They light torches and gather together weapons to lay seige to the mountain fortress. Among all of the peasants are also the parents of the ill-fated bride from days before. The fiance' has convinced both the mother and father of the shepherdess to join their posse, in order to save their other daughter from falling victim to the wicked master.
But these goings on are not going unnoticed far above. At The Rider's castle, the collective guardsmen from all of the guests are keeping watch, as well as drinking, on the castle's roof. The Rider's gatekeeper sees the commotion down in the valley, and he makes mention of it to the others. They all say to let it go, the peasants are only being jolly in the night. No more is made of this and all of the guards go back to their own rooftop party.
In the main hall, The Rider picks up a large cup and has his servant fill it full. He gestures to his friends around the room. He wishes for his new wife to take the cup around and let his friends drink of it. She complies and takes the cup, going around the room to everyone. Though when she gets to The Rider's closest companion, she gets halted. The not-so-mannerly man wants to get to know her better. He passes the cup down the table but keeps her detained with his hand on her arm. On the other side of the table, The Rider watches this with a glare. A few of his other so-called friends go so far as to try to distract him from seeing what is happening to his bride. They bring him out of his seat and attempt to keep his back turned, as they know his temper. Trying as she might, the shepherdess cannot deter the man's advances, and finally he leaps from his seat and grabs her. Hearing the squabble, The Rider angrily whirls around, his hand on the blade at his side. When he sees his chance, he leaps across the table and does away with the offender. All freeze in astonishment; he has just killed his best friend. Rising slowly from the body on the floor, The Rider stands stiffly and looks menacingly at the rest of his guests. This is taken as a warning: no one molests his bride!
Everyone scatters. All of the wedding guests run out of the castle as fast as they can. The body of the slain man is soon carried out by his own servants.
Down in the valley, the villagers watch as a rush of running people are seen silhouetted against the burning torches up on the peak. They stand and wait until the last shadow disappears, then they begin their ascent.
In the now quiet halls of the castle, the newlyweds sit silently. The Rider stands while she sits, an aching silence between them. He looks down at her apologetically. She shies from him, as she had once before. They seem now at odds again. Shaking, he sits down heavily beside her, and pours his heart out to her - "I love you, and I will not submit to another hand touching you!"
He drops his head in shame, the shame of having just committed murder in front of her. She looks at him in pity of how he has humbled himself to her. Leaning forward with her outstretched hand, she lovingly strokes his hair. He lifts his face and turns to her, his face brightening. When his eyes meet her forgiving face, he grabs her hand and nuzzles it. She is tired from the long day, and he thoughtfully lays her down on the seat. After she is settled, he tenderly strokes her hand in both of his. Then drawing back, he sits and watches over her. But there is an uneasy look on his face...
The villagers are now storming up the mountain in a fury, their axes and scythes raised high.
The Rider has fallen asleep sitting up. His bride lies beside him on the lounge seat, also asleep. He awakens and turns to her. He looks at her sleeping form, the tender expression of love in his eyes. He smiles at her while she sleeps. He then gets up carefully from her and walks around to sit on an armchair across from her. He watches her intently to see that she is not disturbed. Comforted that she is still deeply asleep, he stays in the armchair and keeps his eye on her. Soon he falls back to sleep.
At the gates of the castle, the mob arrives but they are cut off from entering because the gatekeeper reels in the drawbridge. Some people fall to their death as they hang on to the rising bridge, but the fiance' will not be stopped. He is one of the few who grabs onto the drawbridge, and he soon climbs over the wall into the castle. He overpowers the old gatekeeper and lowers the drawbridge again. Everyone rushes in and battle with the castle's defenders.
The sound of this battle awakens The Rider from his sleep and he runs over to the window. He sees his servants being fought and defeated, the peasants breaking through into the courtyard of his fortress. Spinning around, he stands with his back to the window. He is unsure about leaving his beloved by herself, but he has no choice. If he does not go to face the mob, they will take her from him! He runs out of the room and soon comes to the stairs that lead into his courtyard. He looks out a window there and sees the peasants getting uncomfortably close. He descends the stairs in order to meet them before they enter the innermost part of his stony castle.
The shepherdess wakes up and finds he has gone from her. Hearing the noise outside, she anxiously stands and goes to find him.
When the peasants come to the foot of these stairs, they stop still and stare. Standing his ground and not intending to let them through, The Rider looks straightly into the midst of them, his eyes daring them to try to get past him. He walks down the stairs and goes into the mob. The fiance' sees his chance at vengeance and rushes his enemy, but The Rider just grabs him by the shirt and angrily shoves him backwards into the mob.
The Rider's beloved makes an appearance at the top of the stairs. Her husband and the mob turn all their attention to her, temporarily forgetting their fight. But while his attention has been diverted, The Rider is brutally attacked by the peasants. They push him to the ground and beat him. Some of the peasants run to meet the shepherdess, but she goes past them. She runs to her husband's side and shoves the angry peasants out of the way. The Rider finally heaves himself up and looks at her in surprise. She begs the crowd not to kill him. "He belongs to me", she says. But when she looks at his face, she is dismayed to see that he does not believe her. He appears defeated and bows his head, thinking that she has only been tricking him all of this time. She moves to go to him but the crowd picks her up on their shoulders and carries her out of the castle's walls. While she is given a hero's escort, The Rider is dragged roughly from his fortress by the mob.
In the village, there is a hut where he has been tied up and is being taunted. The groom who had his marriage ruined by The Rider taunts him the worst. He looks at the bound man maliciously and then grabs him around the neck and tries to strangle him. Although in danger of having his head twisted off, The Rider does nothing to defend himself. He has given up entirely on his life and simply lets the man torture him. But the other two peasants in the room pull the groom away from their prisoner, and they leave the hut and its occupant alone.
At another hut, the shepherdess is the center of attention for her bravery in helping the peasants catch their hated master. She smiles timidly at their words of praise, but inside she is torn. Over the short time she has been with him, she has come to love the master. Although it had been an awkward and hasty marriage between them, she now thinks of him as her rightful husband. She does not want to forsake him. But now she is to be wed to her fiance', whom she now has no use for.
In his hut, The Rider fights to free himself. His bonds are too tight and he soon gives up again, leaning against the wall out of breath.
Now being outfitted for the second time in a wedding gown, the shepherdess' eyes are downcast as the last of her adornments are fitted to her. Her fiance' comes in to check on her, and to ask that she hand The Rider over to him and his group to do with what they wish. She asks them to wait. She has not decided yet. But actually she does not want to hand him over to them at all. Secretly, she is planning to help him escape. She does not know how, but she must help him escape.
When she goes out of the hut there is a horse waiting for her, which she climbs onto with the help of the villagers. They lead her on the horse around the village in a sort of parade march. Then she is led to her groom where they go on to start the wedding festivities. Everyone seems a little happier this time around; there is no Rider to come down and spoil everything. He is locked safely away in his little hut at the far end of the village. The shepherdess' groom points at the hut that is so far from them, clenching his fist. Again he asks her to turn him over to them. She says to wait until the sun rises. Only then will she make her decision.
The party gets off to a wild start and soon everyone is dancing and drinking happily. When the time looks right, the shepherdess steps forward and asks that the guards at The Rider's hut be allowed to join the party. Her groom agrees to the idea and the men are relieved from their post, and two slightly drunken replacements take over. These men do not even worry about the weapons they carry; they stick their swords into the ground and sit down to drink more.
Inside the hut, The Rider is lying on his side. He lifts his head at the sounds outside, but soon drops his head back down in defeat. He is never going to get out...or see her again.
The night is wild with the noises of the wedding feast, but the shepherdess does not seem to hear anything. She only sits at her table in the house of her family, which the entire crowd has moved into. Looking around for her chance, the shepherdess finally sneaks out of the house. Once outside, she ducks down and moves along that no one will see her through the windows. She goes over to the horse she had rode upon earlier; this will do nicely. Taking the gigantic steed's reins, she leads the horse quietly up to the hut at the end of the village...where HE is being kept.
The guards are now asleep from their indulgence, giving her the perfect time to make her move. Not wanting to risk waking up the guardsmen, she instead goes to the window.
Inside, The Rider stirs. He sees that there is someone opening the latched window. Cracks of moonlight come onto his face as the shutters are drawn apart. His eyes watch curiously as the person becomes visible to him, but when he see his beloved, all hope drains from his face. His gaze falls to the floor submissively, not willing to torture himself by looking at her.
She jumps inside to help him but finds him turned from her. She pleads with him to cooperate with her. She is here to set him free. When she starts to untie his feet, his head turns. He looks at her now, a smile coming onto his face. Joyful that he is no longer upset with her, she leans forward and strokes his head reassuringly. He now excitedly lets her untie him.
Back at the party, the groom walks around in a daze. He has lost track of his bride and is now searching for her. He asks everyone he comes to. No one knows where she is. He soon goes outside, where the obvious occurs to him. She has gone to set The Rider free!
Undoing the rest of his bonds, the shepherdess and The Rider stand. Before she can do anything else, he grabs her to him in a mad embrace. Holding each other tightly, she lovingly strokes him over his hair, their faces close. He knows now that he had been wrong. She surely loved him, and he had been too hasty in thinking that she had tricked him. Then, almost as if weary, she falls onto him. He guides her face to lay at his neck, gently patting her back with his hand. He speaks softly to her as he comforts her. They have been through a lot, and now no one will separate them again. As he caresses her, they are startled by the sound of a hated voice off in the distance. It's the groom! And he is calling out for his bride!
Not wasting a second, The Rider scoops up his wife into his arms and lifts her out the window. He follows and she leads him to the horse waiting for them. After mounting, he leans down and lifts her onto his lap. After they are both on, he urges the horse away at a moderate pace. The horse is large and cannot move very fast.
Seeing their retreating figures off in the night, the groom yells for the others. The peasants rush out to see what the problem is. Then they too see what looks like The Rider making off on a steed with the shepherdess in tow. They run after him. Once he gets to the mountain, there may be no chance of ever getting him down again.
Leading the way, the groom climbs through a short-cut on the side of the mountain pass. The other villagers just watch as he climbs higher and higher. Finally, on a cliff, the groom catches up with The Rider and the shepherdess. The groom, outraged, grabs the horse's reins to keep them from going further. The Rider glowers down at his rival, then looks back to his beloved. Her eyes dart back and forth between him and man standing below them. The Rider grows visibly nervous. She looks as though she cannot choose which to go with. Thankfully, she turns her gaze back to her one and true husband, The Rider, and declares whom she will stay with. She throws her arms around his neck and hugs him, a large smile on The Rider's relieved face. The groom just stares in unbelief that she has chosen their enemy above him. Still he is not going to let them leave, and lays a firm hand on The Rider's shoulder to keep him from escaping. But The Rider just grins at him, gives the horse a firm slap on the rump with his hand and they are off once again. The sudden movement knocks the groom over the cliff and to his death. The villagers down below just stare at the still form of the fallen man.
Up above, The Rider and his beloved are on their happy way to their castle on the mountain's peak. A storm is beginning to swirl overhead in the night's sky. The peasants keep watching as the couple make their way to the top. But as the horse and its two riders reach the gates of the castle, a bolt of lightning strikes over them. It hits the castle, causing the horse to rear. But the horse never comes back down! The villagers all gasp in shock as the horse, The Rider, and shepherdess are all turned into a rock formation before their very eyes.
And the end of this story, the camera goes back to the singing old man, years later, in the valley where this amazing story had taken place. His song ends and the people go back to their celebration, all while The Rider and his shepherdess on their stone horse still stand above all on the mountaintop...
