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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1570

Woman in the Moon

1929169 minGermany
Science fictionDramaRomance

Synopsis

A professor's belief that the Moon contains gold draws an engineer into an ambitious space expedition. Industrial interests insist on joining the project, while personal rivalries divide the crew before launch. Once the rocket leaves Earth, scientific curiosity, greed and affection become competing reasons to risk the journey.

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Video edition
Internet Archive
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: German.
This copy runs
169:55
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: German. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Internet Archive · Fritz Lang · Internet Archive source edition

Cast

DirectorsFritz Lang

Historical context

One of Fritz Lang's final silent films, Woman in the Moon connects scientific speculation with a melodrama about money and trust. Its lunar world is imaginary, but the launch preparations treat rocket travel as an engineering problem worthy of serious attention.

Inspirations

Thea von Harbou's novel supplied the story. Rocket researcher Hermann Oberth advised the production, which combines ideas about spaceflight with inventions that should not be taken as accurate lunar science.

Behind the scenes

The launch sequence uses a countdown to build suspense and presents a multistage rocket. The film was made at the UFA studios and stars Willy Fritsch, Gerda Maurus and Klaus Pohl.

Reception and legacy

The film remains a useful meeting point between the history of cinema and early enthusiasm for space travel, showing how technical speculation could become popular spectacle before crewed spaceflight existed.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and creditsMurnau Foundation — film and productionImage: Horst von Harbou / Filmportal.de / Wikimedia Commons — Public domain

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 18, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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