Gustav Kirchberg

Caravan of Death (German: Die Todeskarawane) is a 1920 silent German film, it was an adaptation of the latter half of the Karl May novel From Baghdad to Stamboul, and is now considered to be lost. The film featured Bela Lugosi playing an Arab Sheik pitted against European travellers in an adventure story set in the Sahara. It was the second of three films released by Ustad based on desert adventure novels by Karl May. Although Karl May’s widow praised the film, critics were unimpressed and it was a commercial failure.

In the wild, hardly explored mountains of Kurdish country lives the mysterious society of the Jesidi , who are called the devil worshipers by their opponents. In these mountains, shaded by dark fir trees, revenge and hatred reign and constant struggle between the countless races and sects. Strange festivals unite the fervor of thousands, crowned by the dramatic sacrificial death of one of their holy men. And yet, even in these pictures, which are filled with tremendous passion, there is no lack of warm humor and a cheerful, strong forgiving nature that leads everything to a liberating end. The film is believed to be lost.