Phantom (1922) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

Lorenz's obsessive desire and failed ambitions drive him from ordinary clerical life into crime, imprisonment, and retrospective self-examination.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

The Carriage Phantom

Lorenz works as a clerk and dreams of literary success. A carriage accident introduces Veronika and turns her into an obsessive presence in his mind.

Key Events

• Lorenz Serves As Clerk — Lorenz works as a minor clerk while aspiring to become a published poet. Characters: Lorenz Lubota Location: Town hall office
• The Carriage Collision — A carriage driven by Veronika strikes Lorenz, leaving him physically unharmed but psychologically transformed. Characters: Lorenz Lubota, Veronika Harlan / Mellitta Location: Road
• The Phantom Takes Hold — Lorenz becomes consumed by thoughts of the woman who drove the carriage. Characters: Lorenz Lubota, Veronika Harlan / Mellitta Location: Town streets
• Lorenz Loses His Job — Lorenz misses work and threatens his boss after being accused of stalking Veronika. Characters: Lorenz Lubota Location: Town hall office

Desire Without Access

Lorenz loses his job because of his fixation and seeks money for an expected publishing opportunity. When Veronika remains inaccessible, he redirects his desire toward Mellitta.

Key Events

• Lorenz Loses His Job — Lorenz misses work and threatens his boss after being accused of stalking Veronika. Characters: Lorenz Lubota Location: Town hall office
• A Suit For Publication — Expecting a publisher's meeting, Lorenz seeks money for a new suit from a pawnbroker. Characters: Lorenz Lubota Location: Pawnbroker's establishment
• Wigottschinski Encourages Excess — Wigottschinski encourages Lorenz to celebrate after helping him obtain money. Characters: Lorenz Lubota, Wigottschinski Location: Night club
• Veronika Remains Inaccessible — Lorenz cannot contact Veronika and learns that she is wealthy and engaged within her own social class. Characters: Lorenz Lubota, Veronika Harlan / Mellitta Location: Town
• Mellitta Resembles Veronika — Lorenz begins courting Mellitta because her appearance recalls the woman from the carriage. Characters: Lorenz Lubota, Veronika Harlan / Mellitta Location: Night club

Debt And Disillusionment

Lorenz's gifts and financial needs grow while his literary hopes collapse. The discovery that his poems will not be published leaves him vulnerable to further manipulation.

Key Events

• Mellitta Resembles Veronika — Lorenz begins courting Mellitta because her appearance recalls the woman from the carriage. Characters: Lorenz Lubota, Veronika Harlan / Mellitta Location: Night club
• Lavish Gifts Deepen Debt — Lorenz spends heavily on Mellitta while repeatedly reliving the carriage accident. Characters: Lorenz Lubota, Veronika Harlan / Mellitta Location: Town streets
• The Family Crisis Deepens — Lorenz's financial and emotional turmoil contributes to worsening distress within his household. Characters: Lorenz Lubota Location: Family home
• The Poems Are Rejected — Lorenz's friend and her father learn that his poems will not be published after all. Characters: Lorenz Lubota Location: Family home
• Wigottschinski Supplies Money — Wigottschinski gives Lorenz a sizable amount of money while encouraging further financial deception. Characters: Lorenz Lubota, Wigottschinski Location: Town
• The Loan Fraud Is Discovered — The pawnbroker discovers that Lorenz will not become a published poet and realizes the deception. Characters: Lorenz Lubota Location: Pawnbroker's establishment

The Fatal Burglary

A repayment deadline forces Lorenz toward a burglary planned with Wigottschinski. The pawnbroker discovers them, and the resulting struggle becomes fatal.

Key Events

• The Loan Fraud Is Discovered — The pawnbroker discovers that Lorenz will not become a published poet and realizes the deception. Characters: Lorenz Lubota Location: Pawnbroker's establishment
• Three Days To Repay — Lorenz is ordered to repay the money within three days or face notification of the police. Characters: Lorenz Lubota Location: Pawnbroker's establishment
• The Burglary Plan — Wigottschinski persuades Lorenz to break into the pawnbroker's house and steal repayment money. Characters: Lorenz Lubota, Wigottschinski Location: Town
• Breaking Into The House — Lorenz and Wigottschinski enter the house after the pawnbroker has gone to sleep. Characters: Lorenz Lubota, Wigottschinski Location: Pawnbroker's house
• The Burglars Are Discovered — The pawnbroker wakes, discovers the intruders, and runs to the window to call the police. Characters: Lorenz Lubota, Wigottschinski Location: Pawnbroker's house
• The Struggle Turns Fatal — A struggle follows the discovery, and Wigottschinski kills the pawnbroker. Characters: Lorenz Lubota, Wigottschinski Location: Pawnbroker's house

Writing After Prison

Lorenz is arrested and imprisoned after the burglary. Following his release, he writes his life story as an attempt to free himself from the recurring phantom.

Key Events

• Lorenz Is Arrested — Lorenz is arrested and sent to prison after the fatal burglary. Characters: Lorenz Lubota Location: Prison
• Writing Against The Phantom — After release, Lorenz writes his life story to purge the phantom woman and the recurring image of her departing carriage. Characters: Lorenz Lubota, Veronika Harlan / Mellitta Location: Lorenz's home

Story Breakdown

• Clerical Beginnings — Lorenz is introduced as a town hall clerk whose poetic ambitions exceed his modest circumstances.
  • Town Hall Routine — Lorenz works in a minor office before the central disruption.
  • Poetic Ambition — He expects his poems to be published and prepares for a publisher's meeting.
• Carriage Obsession — A road accident transforms a brief encounter into a consuming mental fixation.
  • White Horse Collision — A carriage driven by Veronika strikes Lorenz on the road.
  • Recurring Phantom — Lorenz repeatedly imagines the woman driving away in her carriage.
• Social Displacement — Lorenz's obsession damages his employment and separates him from ordinary social expectations.
  • Job Abandonment — He misses work and threatens his boss over the accusation of stalking.
  • Inaccessible Veronika — He learns that Veronika is wealthy and engaged within her own class.
• Substitute Courtship — Unable to reach Veronika, Lorenz pursues Mellitta because of her resemblance to the phantom woman.
  • Mellitta Resemblance — Mellitta becomes a substitute focus for Lorenz's unresolved desire.
  • Lavish Spending — Lorenz buys expensive gifts, increasing his need for money.
• Financial Collapse — The collapse of Lorenz's literary hopes exposes the dangerous consequences of his borrowing and deception.
  • Poems Rejected — Lorenz's expected publication fails to materialize.
  • Repayment Deadline — The pawnbroker demands repayment within three days and threatens police notification.
• Criminal Descent — Wigottschinski's influence turns Lorenz's financial desperation into a fatal burglary.
  • Burglary Agreement — Lorenz accepts Wigottschinski's plan to steal repayment money.
  • Fatal Struggle — The householder discovers the intruders, and Wigottschinski kills her during the struggle.
• Prison And Reflection — After imprisonment, Lorenz turns his experience into a written attempt at psychological release.
  • Arrest And Prison — Lorenz is arrested and sent to prison after the burglary.
  • Life Story Written — After release, he writes his life story to purge the phantom from his mind.

Directed by

F. W. Murnau

Key Cast

• Alfred Abel — Lorenz Lubota
• Grete Berger — Pfandleiherin Schwabe / Pawnbroker Schwabe
• Lil Dagover — Marie Starke
• Lya De Putti — Veronika Harlan / Mellitta
• Anton Edthofer — Wigottschinski