Stern prosecutor Leander (Bernhard Goetzke, the gimlet-eyed geezer who played Death in Fritz Lang's 'Destiny') is a zero-tolerance kind of guy who's only too ready to call for the death penalty. As a result, he's known as 'der henker' (the hangman). One night, he visits a nightclub called The Spider (which, in a memorable piece of design, has an enormous model of a spider hanging above the bar). There he meets a curly-haired barmaid (Andree Lafayette) to whom he's immediately attracted. He falls in love and the two begin seeing each other, but what will he do when her brother (played by Spanish footballer Felix de Pomes) is accused of murder?

I saw this silent film in a British release print which bore the title 'Judge Not'. I think it may have been shorter than the original German version, which Wikipedia says ran 94 minutes. Anyway, the story proved to be less predictable than I had thought it would be and I found it to be a well-made picture with above average acting for its time. It never gets particularly dark or weird, however, so may disappoint some people on those grounds.

It was apparently the only film directed by cinematographer Theodor Sparkuhl, who later fled the Nazis and enjoyed a successful career in Hollywood, shooting 'Beau Geste' (1939) among others. It was co-directed with Adolf Trotz, who also fled the Nazis but never made it to Hollywood. He went first to Spain, then Italy, where he died at the age of 43 (I don't know what from) shortly before the outbreak of WW2. I've also seen his Rasputin film which features a great performance by Conrad Veidt, although I thought the camera placement was often poor in that film, so I'm sure he benefitted from working with Sparkuhl here.

Viewed at the Kennington Bioscope night at the Cinema Museum in London on 19 November 2025 with live piano accompaniment by Colin Sell.

German cinema is famous for its historical depth, expressionist aesthetics, and social-political engagement. It has moved from Expressionism to political reckoning, from New German Cinema's raw realism to contemporary genre experiments. Its legacy lies in both technical innovation and deep explorations of history, morality, and philosophy.

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Der Henker

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