The Strange Case of Captain Ramper

1927 film

The Strange Case of Captain Ramper

Directed by| Max Reichmann
Screenplay by|

* Curt Johannes Braun
* Paul Wegener[1]

Based on| Ramper
by Max Mohr
Starring|

* Paul Wegener
* Mary Johnson

Cinematography|

* Friedrich Weinmann
* Herbert Körner[2]

Music by| Walter Ulfig[2]

Production
company

Deutsche Film-Union AG[2]

Release date

* 31 October 1927 (1927-10-31) (Berlin)

Country| Germany[2]
Language| Silent

The Strange Case of Captain Ramper (German: Ramper, der Tiermensch) is a 1927 German silent film directed by Max Reichmann and starring Paul Wegener and Mary Johnson.

## Plot[edit]

In a flight over the Arctic where Captain Ramper and Ipling crash their plane. The badly injured Ipling commits suicide, leaving Ramper to survive the next 15 years, where he is altered into a wild creature without memory. He is captured by a whaling vessel who believe he is the abominable snowman. He is sold to a circus where Tony the animal trainer tries to humanize him. There Ramper falls in love with her, while Professor Barbarzin experiments on ramper to try to get him to return to his former physical and mental self. The experimentation on him makes Ramper only aware of the corrupt nature of modern society, leading him to return to the North.[3]

## Cast[edit]

Cast adapted from Michael Pitt's book Thrills Untapped and Filmportal.de.[2]

* Paul Wegener as Kapitän Ramper
* Camillo Kossuth as Charles Ipling
* Kurt Gerron as Chocolat
* Mary Johnson as Tony
* Hugo Döblin as Doktor
* Georg Guertler as Freddy
* Max Schreck as The Thin One[1]
* Hermann Vallentin as Barbazin
* Raimondo van Riel as The Captain[1]

## Production[edit]

The Strange Case of Captain Ramper was based on the play Ramper play by Max Mohr.[1] The film's sets were designed by the art director Leopold Blonder.[2]

## Release[edit]

The Strange Case of Captain Ramper was released in Berlin on October 31, 1927.[2]

It was released in the United States by First National in 1928. On the film's American release, it was re-edited, adding brief spoken prologues about a dirigible castrophe as the lead in to the film's plot.[1]

The film is believed to be lost, with only some visual material showcasing it.[1]

## Reception[edit]

From contemporary reviews, a reviewer in Variety found the film "somewhat better than the Contemporary German pictures seen on this side during the last season or two" but that it was also "draggy" concluding that the film was "fair to middling screen fare" and suggested it needed more editing.[4] Photoplay described it simply as a "German picture with original plot. Just a bit heavy."[4]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Pitts 2018, p. 258.
2. ^ a b c d e f g "Ramper, der Tiermensch" (in German). Filmportal.de. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
3. ^ Pitts 2018, p. 258-259.
4. ^ a b Pitts 2018, p. 259.

### Sources[edit]

* Pitts, Michael R. (2018). Thrills Untapped: Neglected Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928-1936. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476632896.

## External links[edit]

* The Strange Case of Captain Ramper at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Max Reichmann

* The Battle Against Berlin (1926)
* Derby (1926)
* The Strange Case of Captain Ramper (1927)
* Their Last Love Affair (1927)
* Woman in Flames (1928)
* Der Herzensphotograph (1928)
* Knights of the Night (1928)
* Life's Circus (1928)
* How Do I Become Rich and Happy? (1930)
* End of the Rainbow (1930)
* The Land of Smiles (1930)
* You'll Be in My Heart (1930)
* The Big Attraction (1931)
* Never Trust a Woman (1931)
* Transit Camp (1932)

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