The Indian Tomb (1959 film)

The Indian Tomb (German: Das indische Grabmal) is a 1959 adventure film, co-written and directed by Fritz Lang. Produced by Artur Brauner, it is an international co-production of West Germany, France and Italy. It is the second film, after The Tiger of Eschnapur (1959), of "Fritz Lang's Indian Epic" duology, which are based on the 1918 novel The Indian Tomb, written by Lang's ex-wife Thea von Harbou.

The Indian Tomb
German theatrical release poster
Directed by	Fritz Lang
Screenplay by	Thea von Harbou Fritz Lang Werner Jörg Lüddecke
Based on	The Indian Tomb by Thea von Harbou
Produced by	Artur Brauner
Starring	Debra Paget Paul Hubschmid Walter Reyer Claus Holm Valéry Inkijinoff Sabine Bethmann
Cinematography	Richard Angst
Edited by	Walter Wischniewsky
Music by	Gerhard Becker Michel Michelet
Production companies	Central Cinema Company Rizzoli Film Regina Production Critérion Film
Release date	March 5, 1959 (1959-03-05) (West Germany)
Running time	102 minutes
Countries	West Germany France Italy[1][2][3]
Language	German

The Indian Tomb stars Debra Paget, Paul Hubschmid, Walter Reyer, Claus Holm, Valéry Inkijinoff, and Sabine Bethmann. Interiors were shot at the Spandau Studios in West Berlin with sets designed by the art directors Helmut Nentwig and Willy Schatz.

In 1960 American International Pictures obtained the rights to both films in "Fritz Lang's Indian Epic", combining them into one heavily edited, 90-minute-long feature named Journey to the Lost City which earned domestic gross of $500,000.^[4] After both were dubbed into Spanish, they were shown as separate films, where the second is a direct continuation of the first.

Plot

The Indian Tomb picks up directly after the cliffhanger ending of The Tiger of Eschnapur. Architect Harald Berger and Princess Seetha are fleeing the wrath of the jealous Maharaja Chandra, who has discovered their love. Pursued across deserts and jungles by the Maharaja’s soldiers, the lovers face treacherous landscapes, wild animals, and a web of betrayals. Meanwhile, Harald’s sister Irene and her husband Walter, still guests of Chandra, begin to suspect the Maharaja’s darker intentions, as his obsession with Seetha pushes him toward cruelty and vengeance.

The story culminates in the construction of the Maharaja’s intended monument: a grand tomb for Seetha—meant not as an honor but as her eternal prison in death. As political unrest brews and a rebellion stirs among Chandra’s subjects, loyalties shift and danger mounts. In the final act, love, jealousy, and imperial grandeur collide in a spectacle of dance, swordplay, and opulent settings, leading to a resolution that restores order but leaves the grandeur of Chandra’s ambitions crumbling in the dust.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film had an approval rating of 88% based on 8 reviews.^[5] Contemporaneously Die Welt wrote: "Here lies Fritz Lang, once creator of important films like Metropolis and M. The 'Indian tomb' is his own" [i.e., grave as a filmmaker].^[6] In contrast to those earlier opinions, contemporary American film critics are positive about the film.^[5] The film is probably best remembered today for Debra Paget's sexy "snake dance scene". The Hollywood Reporter headlined their review with a publicity shot of her dance, writing, "The pasted-on costume she wears for a long 'snake dance' scene, which leaves her nearly naked, seems to do the trick—though Seetha's wardrobe will hardly distract 21st century viewers from perhaps the fakest-looking writhing cobra in movie history."^[7]

See also

• The Indian Tomb (1921 film)
• The Indian Tomb (1938 film)