Lang's and Debra's Indian Tomb

There are two exciting movies directed by Fritz Lang that I loved as a kid. The first was the "Indian Tomb" or "Journey to the Lost City" (Das indische Grabmal). It was a 1959 German-French-Italian adventure drama film directed by Fritz Lang. The other is "The Tiger of Eschnapur" (Der Tiger von Eschnapur). Besides being exotic and thrilling, the top spot in the films was the marvelous dance performed by petite Debra Paget, of course. The lousy made fake cobra she has been dancing with in "Indian tomb" was sufficiently believable for the undemanding audience of the time, which was mesmerised by Debra's bold outfit and dancing moves, anyway.

 

 

Here Fritz Lang discusses the scene with Debra Paget.

Art deco in vintage sci fi films

Although, heavily influenced by the prevailing art style of the respectful decades of their production, these movies are still incredible, when measured by the imagination and craftsmanship of their creators: German "Meropolis"(1927), Russian "Aelita:Queen of Mars"(1927) and British "The shape of things to come"(1936).