Margot von Hardt

The good citizens of a small Austrian town are all aquiver; the schoolmaster has published a brochure in which can be read, black on white, the story of the 'dead guest,' in whose embrace the town's prospective brides found death. But worst of all, the writer of the brochure has plausibly concluded that the 'dead guest' will return this very year! A copy of this film is conserved in the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC).

The film depicts the early life of the reformer Martin Luther and was produced by the Berlin and Vienna-based production company Rubin-Film. The premiere took place on September 1 1913. The showing of the film in Austria was banned because the film was likely to offend religious sensibilities. On April 20, 1921, following a complaint from the producer Báron, this decision was overturned by the film inspection authority with the restriction that the film “may not be shown in front of young people”.