"Die Spinnen, 1. Teil - Der Goldene See" is a German full feature film from almost 100 years ago. It was intended as the first of 4 films, but in the end, there was only one sequel. The protagonist is played by Carl de Vogt, but the most prominent cast member today is probably Lil Dagover. I am not too big on silent films (don't be fooled by the soundtrack) or adventure films in general, but I enjoyed this one. The version I saw only went for 55 minutes, so I guess they sped things up or some scenes were missing here, possibly lost. One good aspect is that there were definitely enough intertitles, something these very old films are badly in need of. Also the acting was solid, even if I wasn't too moved by the love story. But I liked how writer and director Lang did not go for happy endings in here, but for realism. And as many other times with his works, there is a sinister criminal organization playing a major role. The Spiders are not really spiders, but said organization. And there are definitely many moments during which I felt I was watching a very very old Indiana Jones movie. I also liked the prologue with the guy on the island. Not the main character, but he made a nice initialization to the movie. I will certainly watch the sequel after this one. I hope it's equally good. Recommended.
