Tesla Coils in the Movies

A reference to early movies utilizing a Tesla coil in a recent “Input-Output” column resulted in an interesting series of events. First off, Jim Berger of Tiffin, Ohio, sent a copy of the POPULAR MECHANICS magazine for March, 1927. A book mark was placed between pages 424 and 425. They contained a description of a new movie being made in Germany in which a Tesla coil was used to provide special effects. The article made no reference to the name of the movie but the illustrations were interesting enough to warrant further investigation.

A week hadn't passed when a letter arrived from TCBA member Norman Stanley. Among the many topics he discussed was the silent sci-fi movie METROPOLIS which he remembered seeing when a boy of ten. His memory must be remarkable because he gave me an accurate description of the movie mentioned in the PM magazine.

About two days later, a Publishers Central Bureau sales catalog arrived in the mail. Under the sci-fi column of the video tape section was a notice of the availability of the Fritz Lang movie, METROPOLIS ($14.95). The address for Publishers is One Champion Ave., Avenel, NJ 07001. Once you are on their mailing lists, you will receive their offerings on a regular basis.

Next, the local paper came out with a list of movies scheduled to be shown at the library. You guessed it. One of the titles on the list was METROPOLIS. Now that I think of it, this series of events seems weird. Is the FORCE with TCBA?

I not only purchased the video tape but attended the showing at the library. The two films were the same Fritz Lang movie but the library version was an enhanced production by Giorgio Moroder, the songwriter who scored FLASHDANCE, AMERICAN GIGOLO, and SCARFACE.

In my opinion, the Moroder version is by far the best of the two prints. For one, Moroder scouted the globe for the best available print. He was unable to find a film in perfect condition but he did find enough prints to enable him to piece a good single roll together. Not only is his version clear, it does not have the under and over exposures or flickering that is evident in the video version. In addition, Moroder replaced some of the cuts made in the film that Lang finally distributed. In so doing, Moroder's print gives us a story with better continuity. Furthermore, the newer version has been given a tint of coloring. Although it is not a true color film, the tint seems to give the film a bit more sparkle. Lastly, Moroder replaced the fox trot type of musical score with rock music by Pat Benatar, Bonnie Taylor, Adam Ant, and Loverboy. As one who has very little to say in favor of rock music, I find the fact that I enjoyed Moroder's more than the original a bit difficult to believe. The original fox trot dance music of the 1920's seems a bit out of place with some of the morose characters in the movie. Evidently, mood music techniques had not yet fully developed when Lang made his movie. If Moroder's use of rock music appears to be a strange marriage, it is no stranger than the fact that METROPOLIS's famed cinema photographer, Karl Freund, was to later film the I LOVE LUCY tv series.

The Story

Made in Germany in 1926 with a huge production budget and 36,000 extras, and set in 2026, METROPOLIS is a mystical and maniacal epic and one of the first movies to offer a full-scale vision of the future. The metropolis of the film's title is a dazzling city, filled with skyscrapers, airplanes, and Eden-like leisure gardens. Underground, though, is a world of slaves who are under the control of a ruthless dictator named Frederson. The workers would have long succumbed to their hardships had it not been for the inspiration of the beautiful heroine, Maria. When the workers show signs of staging a revolt, Frederson goes to see Rotwang (probably pronounced wrote-vong), an eccentric and mad scientist (aren't they all?) who owns a mysterious laboratory full of high voltage apparatus (my kind of movie). If you are thinking that this is a preview of things to come in movie making, you are right. However, unlike Dr. Frankenstein, who is a legitimate scientist with good thoughts, Rotwang is just the opposite.

When Frederson learns that Rotwang can give life to a robot, he orders him to convert it into a shrewed and evil woman capable of controlling the workers. Of course, it will work better if the robot looks like Maria. Rotwang captures Maria and ties her down on the table below the high voltage spheres. While the film does not give us a good look at the Tesla coil, the long sparks playing down on Maria are plainly visible. Everything appears to be in favor of the bad guys. Fortunately, things take a twist and the hero, Frederick (Frederson's son) and Maria are able to overcome the evil forces. Rotwang is killed by Frederick (should have tied him to the Tesla primary coil) and Frederson becomes a born-again good guy.

Incidentally, in the Moroder version, we learn a bit more about Rotwang's obsession for Maria. In the video print, she is just a scientific entity. But in the Moroder film, there is a romantic connection between Rotwang and a youthful love (who looks like Maria) he once lost.