Ella La Cour

Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen's legendary film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages suffered the same hysteria as turn-of-the-century psychiatric patients. But the film itself is far from serious-- instead it's a witches' brew of the scary, gross, and darkly humorous.

After a small girl is kidnapped by a travelling circus, her heartbroken parents put their trust in their daughter’s young friend, who quickly catches up with the villainous travellers. But however hard the children try, they cannot escape, and as the years pass they are forced to accept their new, hard life on the road. Then one day, a fresh opportunity presents itself. (stumfilm.dk)

Anna, a beautiful girl from a poor background, is offered a well-paid position as a lady's companion in London. Anna's boyfriend, the sceptical Georg, suspects that the job offer is too good to be true, but Anna dismisses him and reports to the London address. The stately home in England turns out to be a whorehouse that imports women from Denmark. Anna manages to overpower her first client but is unable to escape.

When Prince Otto is involved in a hunting accident, the game warden’s daughter Ellen becomes his nurse. She falls head over heels in love with him and the infatuation is mutual. But when the prince’s father, the ruler, dies, it turns out that the prince’s heart is bequeathed to someone else. In her deep despair over her lost love, the game warden’s now downhearted daughter knocks on the convent gate. (stumfilm.dk)

Master Spag rejoices when he is offered the position of house teacher for the baroness’ two sons. However, he is hardly inside the door before the naughty boys start running circles around him. (Stumfilm.dk)

Edgar the rich man’s son meets Ebba the waitress, and sparks fly. Ebba quickly becomes pregnant, but when the young lovers want to marry, Edgar’s father will stop at nothing to quash the mismatch. (stumfilm.dk)

A female ‘gypsy’ – in the parlance of the time – must choose between helping her own camp or a kidnapped girl. The woman once fell in love with the local count. However, without hesitation, the count left her heartbroken for a rich aristocratic girl who seduced him. Years later, the count refuses to pay alms to the gypsy camp, so a couple of desperate gypsies decide to kidnap his five-year-old daughter. The scorned woman recognises her old beloved count in the child’s face and decides to do the right thing. (Stumfilm.dk)

Marie, the daughter of a pastor, and major Trolle are young and in love, and they seem destined to become engaged. Everything is coming up roses when a serpent enters this Paradise. Trolle’s close friend, Hoffmann, begins making passes at Marie, and even in the face of consistent rejections he remains tireless in his pursuit. When he assaults Marie one evening, Trolle surprises them and mistakenly thinks they are having an affair. Marie is deeply hurt by Trolle’s distrust of her, so she leaves him quietly and finds employment at the Scala Theatre. When she is to perform some time later, Hoffmann is present – as is Trolle, who has realised his mistake. When she receives an ingratiating message from Hoffmann, she makes an impulsive and fateful decision. Stumfilm.dk