Die Teufelskirche (1919)

“The plot of the film is as follows: A prosperous farmer lives happily with his young and beautiful wife, their marriage troubled only by the fact that they have no children. The farmer is worried about this. Lying in a haystack, he has the following dream: The devil sneaks through the village, intent on winning the little village church for himself. The little village church burns down, and the congregation discusses where the new church should be built. The devil places a heavy stone in front of the villagers. They decide to carry it through the village and build the new church wherever the person carrying it has to set it down because it has become too heavy. And so it happens: The stone is laid down on the doorstep of the house belonging to the dreaming farmer, and he is asked to sell his farm to the congregation so that the church can be built there. This puts the farmer in great moral distress, because he promised his father on his deathbed that he would not sell the farm. In the meantime, the devil has drawn near to the beautiful farmer’s wife, who grieves that her marriage has been denied the blessing of children. The sensual woman throws herself into the devil’s arms, and they disappear into the woods. While she is committing adultery, the farmer’s homestead burns down. The farmer takes this as a warning from God and promises the village priest to give his homestead to the congregation. He had only promised his father not to sell the farm, he reasons; that does not prevent him from giving it away. The farmer’s wife appears and wants to cancel this gift agreement. The priest has noticed that other men pursue the farmer’s wife because of her beauty, and warns her. The farmer’s wife feigns humility; the priest is so overcome by her beauty that he kisses her. The devil makes the following pact with the priest: He, the devil, will build the church, and it will belong to him as soon as the priest denies God’s commandment at the altar. The priest agrees to the pact. By morning, a magnificent new church stands there. Holding a crucifix outstretched in his hand, the priest sets out with his congregation to banish the devil from the church. The devil stands before the altar and refuses to leave. The beautiful farmer’s wife appears before the priest in a seductive form, and the priest has to confess that he is entangled in sinful love for her. The congregation wants to lay hands on its priest, but the priest, consumed by his passion, argues that human passion is willed by God and therefore cannot be a sin. The congregation is ready to believe its priest. Meanwhile, the Lord God approaches from the sea, dressed as a beggar, and asks to be let into the church. He says he is the Lord God and wishes to live in the church. A beggar turns him away, believing him to be a beggar or a madman. The Lord God goes on his way, and the devil triumphs: The whole congregation now belongs to him; the priest has denied his God. The one who had stood outside the door was God. The whole congregation is his now. The farmer wakes from his tormenting dream and, still drowsy, realizes that it was all only a dream: the old church is intact, his beautiful wife is as faithful to him as ever, and the village’s revered priest appears and wishes the couple a blessed year.”