Alraune - 1918

The original "Bad Seed"! Nature versus nurture.

Alraune (German for Mandrake) is a novel by German occult novelist Hanns Heinz Ewers published in 1911; it is also the name of the female lead character. This poster is for the Austrian release of the 1918 German silent film.

A contemporary take on the alchemy of the mystical mandrake root. A scientist, Professor Jakob ten Brinken, interested in the laws of heredity, impregnates a prostitute in a laboratory with the semen of a hanged murderer. The prostitute conceives a female child who has no concept of love, whom the professor adopts. The girl, Alraune, suffers from obsessive sexuality and perverse relationships throughout her life. She learns of her unnatural origins and she avenges herself against the professor.

THIS PRINT WAS MADE BY PHOTOGRAPHING THE ORIGINAL POSTER IN THE CENTURY GUILD COLLECTION- NOT AN INTERNET FILE

Wonderful gifts and an affordable medium-resolution print option, rare images from our archives produced in small editions- all under $50. For our highest quality large format facsimiles, please contact us at gallery@centuryguild.net for information on our Fine Edition Prints. (Prices start at $550)

Alraune (11x14 Patronage Print #3)