Das Indische Grabmal (1959)
Directed by Fritz Lang

Film Review

Das Indische Grabmal is the dreary sequel to Der Tiger von Eschnapur, Fritz Lang's misguided and flawed excursion into the exotic adventure genre.  Although the films were popular in Germany when they were released, they now come across as absurd and tedious, memorable only for their risibly bad action scenes that are played with virtually no conviction and an almost total lack of realism.  Whilst the pedestrian storyline is undoubtedly the film's weakest point, you can't help cringing at some atrocious acting and kitsch sets that look too obviously like painted polystyrene.  Only in a few sequences (notably the impressive but all too brief location scenes) do we get a glimpse of the great cineaste that Friz Lang was in earlier years.  After this spectacle of the absurd, Lang managed to partly redeem himself in his final film, the cult classic Die 1000 Augen des Dr Mabuse.

Film Synopsis

In India, the architect Harald Berger falls passionately in love with Seetha, the beautiful temple dancer of Chandra, Maharajah of Eschnapur.  Realising that their lives are in peril, Harald and Seetha take flight, pursued by Chandra's loyal guards.  They lose their way whilst crossing a desert but are saved when they are found by a party of travellers.   They are taken to a house to recover, but here they are betrayed by the house's owner.  They are soon recaptured by the Maharajah's men and taken back to his palace.  Berger is imprisoned in the palace dungeon and Seetha is forced into marrying Chandra.  So preoccupied is he with his wedding plans that the Maharajah fails to see that he is about to be deposed by the ambitious plotter Prince Ramigani, supported by Prince Padhu and his army...