Extravagant painted backdrops were a key part of German Expressionism. Although many behind-the-scenes figures are lost to time, ERICH KETTLEHUT remains one of Germany’s greatest production designers, not least for his contributions to METROPOLIS (1927).
Kettlehut enjoyed a long relationship with Fritz Lang on films like DR. MABUSE THE GAMBLER (1922) and the epic fantasy DIE NIBELUNGEN (1924), regularly assisted by his partner Otto Hunte. Together, they gave Lang’s films a mystical other-worldly look.
Allegedly Kettlehut considered himself more an architect, examining the world construction from an economic perspective. While his contemporary Walter Reimann exaggerated the artistic quality of THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI (1920) (below)
Regardless Kettlehut remains an essential figure in German cinema, who apparently hand drew shading, millimetre by millimetre, onto the backdrop for this scene in METROPOLIS to show the travelling light beams across the future city.
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