Journey to the Lost City
Directed by Fritz Lang
Written by Fritz Lang, Werner Jorg Luddeke and Thea von Harbou from von Harbou’s novel
1960/Italy/France/West Germany
Criterion Productions/Regina Films/Rizzoli Film
First viewing/Amazon Instant
Prince Ramigani: India can affect a man in strange ways.
A dubbed, heavily edited and faded print might not have done justice to two of Fritz Lang’s final films.
American International acquired the rights to Lang’s Der Tiger von Eschnapur (1959) and The Indian Tomb (1959) and edited them together for the U.S. market. The adventure concerns an architect hired to supervise a Maharajah’s pet project. Before he gets there he meets Seetha (Deborah Padget), who is heading there as well to serve as a temple dancer. They fall in love. Unbeknownst to either of them, the maharajah plans to marry Seetha. En route, the architect also slays a man-eating tiger earning the maharajah’s gratitude and favor.
The maharajah is in a power struggle with his evil brother. The brother knows that the brother of the maharajah’s late wife will not tolerate his remarriage and will send his army in to overthrow him. Thus, before long both the maharajah and his brother are out to thwart Seetha’s romance with the architect by whatever dastardly means possible.
Neither of the original films were available to me. I sense that the primary reason to watch them is the spectacle. Unfortunately, the color on the Amazon version was so faded as to be almost indiscernible. The story was probably garbled in the editing and the acting is barely passable.
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