The Doll Maker of Kiang-Ning (1923)
November 1, 1923
Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Cast & Crew.

Werner Krauss

Lia Eibenschütz

Ossip Runitsch

Lucie Mannheim

Julius Falkenstein

Fritz Achterberg

Hans Schweikart

Eugen Rex

Alexander Alexandrowski

Yuri Yurovsky
Actor

Walter Reger
Art Direction

Willy Hameister
Director of Photography

César Klein
Art Direction

Robert Wiene
Producer / Director

Carl Mayer
Writer
Details.
Release Date
November 1, 1923
Original Name
Der Puppenmacher von Kiang-Ning
Status
Released
Genres
Last updated:
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
The Doll Maker of Kiang-Ning (German: Der Puppenmacher von Kiang-Ning) is a 1923 German silent fantasy film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Werner Krauss, Lia Eibenschütz, and Ossip Runitsch. A doll maker in Kiangning (modern Nanjing), China crafts a puppet which he is convinced is lifelike. He takes it to exhibit at a public event, but is outraged to find an even more convincing and beautiful doll there. It is in fact a real woman pretending to be a doll, but he becomes so obsessed he attempts to steal her and the film ends with her rescue and his tragic death.
The film had its premiere in Berlin in November 1923. It received a universally negative reception from critics who were particularly unimpressed by the attempt to portray Chinese culture using German actors. The film continues a wider theme in the director Robert Wiene's work which contrasts Western and Eastern cultures.