Das Mirakel

Das Mirakel ("The Miracle"), is a short film directed by Cherry Kearton and Max Reinhardt and released in 1912. It is best known for its experimental use of sound. The film was adapted by Joseph Menchen from a play by Karl Vollmöller and starred Vollmöller's wife Maria Carmi as the Madonna. It is one of two movie versions of the play released in 1912 (see below). There would not be another film version of it for nearly fifty years. Talking pictures were not available or practical until 1927's The Jazz Singer, although filmmakers had begun experimenting with mixing sounds and pictures as early as 1895. One such experiment was Das Mirakel. Kearton's pioneering talking film was an adapted version of the 1911 Max Reinhardt stage spectacular...