Review of The Phantom Carriage (1921) by Rachel B — 07 Oct 2009

Here?s a relative obscurity, a silent Swedish film featuring the Grim Reaper. The special effects here are amazing for their time, they are able to make actors (and a carriage) look like translucent ghosts for extended scenes, not an easy feat in 1921.

The story has also proved inspirational, the setup of a man meeting Death for a while is said to have been a catalyst for Bergman?s The Seventh Seal. The story itself is fairly reminiscent of the story of Scrooge in The Christmas Carol, and makes for a nice little morality tale.