The Sandman
by E. T. A. Hoffmann
Die Puppe intertitles
Hoffmann, who died in 1822, in his 46 years of life had a multitude of careers. Trained as a lawyer, he was a composer, theatrical director, musical critic and of course a writer. His translated work actually became popular long before he achieved fame in his native Germany. He was much admired by Edgar Allen Poe.
SPOILERS
In The Sandman, we see the main character Nathaniel fall in love with what (which in a little stretch) could be considered one of the first prototype "robots". Actually, it's a female mechanical doll; Nathaniel is under the influence of the evil Coppelius (seen by Nathaniel as "the Sandman" of his childhood nights). Driven to madness, he loses what could have been a real love in Clara.
(This is a story that is hard to summarize. The flavor of Hoffmann's style and his nuances are what make this story memorable. It's doesn't take long to read and is recommended if you are interested.)
Before the film age, Hoffman was adapted into several media. Tales of Hoffman was done by Jacques Offenbach as his most serious work. This pastiche of Hoffman's stories included The Sandman. The Sandman was made into the ballet "Coppelia" by Leo Delibes and an opera called "La Poupee" in 1896. Various stage adaptations were also made from his works incorporating this short story.
In turn film adaptations were generated (many of them indirectly from these sources).
Among those George Melies films of which not much is known there is "Gugusse eut l'Automate" (1897) and "Coppelia ou la Poupee Animee" (1900).
Next came "The Doll Maker's Daughter" in 1906 and 1907's "An Automated Doll".
Tales of Hoffmann was filmed in Austria (1911), in Germany (1915, directed by Richard Oswald) and again in Austria in 1923. La Poupee was parodied in film as "Die Puppe" in 1919 (director, Ernst Lubitch).
Of this bunch I've had the pleasure to view Oswald's "Tales of Hoffman" and Lubitch's "Die Puppe". Both are o.k. productions that have their moments. Perhaps I enjoyed Die Puppe a little more; it has a nice blend of humor and surrealism. It helped, of course, that of the two I was able to obtain translated title card to Die Puppe.
Since the silent era, there have been other adaptions of The Sandman. There is definitely room for more research on this topic.
written: 4/27/2002
revised: 2/13/2003